Watching Over You
by Echoessa
Summary: As the world teetered on the brink of anarchy, a new hope arose. An elite international task force charged with ending the war, and restoring liberty to all nations. Overwatch. Soldiers. Scientists. Adventurers. Oddities. Yep, an overpowered ramen loving prankster definitely falls under the last category.
1. Chapter 1 - We're All Soldiers Now

**Chapter 1 – We're All Soldiers Now**

Jack Morrison still couldn't exactly understand how he ended up in this situation.

Whenever he thought about the future, he always saw himself back home in Indiana working at his family farm, happily married and with a couple of kids of his own – one boy and one girl, with the boy being the oldest so he could always protect his little sister. A simple life for a simple man.

Even when he decided to join the military at the age of eighteen, just like his father and grandfather had done before him, he knew that his future wouldn't be in the army. He wanted to do his duty to his country but he had no intention to purse a military career. Unfortunately for him, several high-ranking officers thought differently and Jack had to reconsider his plans for the future.

However, he never imagined that he would find himself sitting on a bed in a medical bay of a secret government facility located God knows where while wearing only an hospital gown and a pair of underwear. Still, that was not as weird as the fact that he had been turned into a super soldier to fight against an invasion of robots hell-bent on destroying humanity.

Definitely a huge difference from the simple life he had planned.

But, while a part of him was nervous and afraid of this changing, he still felt proud and honoured that his country believed in him to help them and protect them. One of the things his father taught him was to always help those in need. When he had told him that he was referring to the other farmers of his home town and not the entire US population, but Jack was sure the principle was the same.

Looking at his right, Jack saw the only other member of the Soldier Enhanced Program. A tall, muscular, dark skinned man in his late twenties – one or two years older than himself – with short black hair and a goatee with moustache. He was calmly sitting on a chair in a corner of the room with his arms crossed, his chin resting on his chest and eyes closed.

At first glance he seemed to be sleeping, not a hypothesis so farfetched since he hadn't moved an inch from the moment they had been told to wait there, on the other hand, the subtle but constant tension of his muscles told a different story. Not only was he awake, but probably also very much aware of his surrounding and ready to react if needed to.

Jack was now more than certain that the man in front of him was not only a soldier, obviously, but one with several years of experience on the field. His assumption was not that surprising. Besides the evidences present in his behaviour, the US Government wanted to create super soldiers, so it was only logical that they would select the best as possible candidates.

A single brown eye snapped open and stared back into Jack's blue eyes. Jack fidgeted slightly under the stare and mentally chastised himself. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice he was staring right at him. Way to make a first impression. Clearing his throat, Jack quickly recomposed himself and responded with a polite smile. Since they were probably going to work often together from now own, he really wanted to start off with the right foot.

"I don't believe we've been introduced. My name's Jack Morrison and I'm looking forward to working with you."

A couple of seconds passed and the only response he got was a slow blink from the man in front of him, before he closed his eyes once more, apparently completely ignoring what the blond had just said to him. Jack really wanted to sigh but controlled himself. It was not the first time he encountered this kind of situation. Several men under his command were a little… difficult at the beginning. Nobody wanted to follow the orders of a "pretty country boy", as they often tended to call him, but in the end he had always managed to change their minds. For now, he had no reason to believe it would not work the same with this man.

Straightening his back, Jack began to talk once again, "Since we're going to be partners, I think we sh–"

"We're not partners, Morrison," the man grumbled, interrupting whatever the blond was about to say.

Jack was not fazed by the interruption. He was mostly happy that he managed to make him say a word, even if he was a little annoyed at what exactly he had said. Well, beggars can't be choosers. Apparently, this man was not a team player and considering how almost offended he sounded at the idea of having a partner, he probably was used to working solo. This made things slightly complicated, but Jack was not so easily deterred.

"I know what you're thinking," the dark skinned man said abruptly, looking straight into Jack's eyes, "You want us to work as a team, and you're sure that in one way or another you'll manage to do that. Well, let me stop you right there. It will not work."

Uncrossing his arms, he lazily pointed a finger towards the blond, "I know who you are, Jack Morrison. There isn't one soldier who hasn't heard about your great and good deeds." As he gained a faraway look, he continued speaking with a mocking tone, "The man who fights for justice. The man who defends the poor. The man who leaves no one behind. The man who is the poster boy of the US Army."

"I never wanted any of that. I simply followed the orders like any other soldier," Jack defended himself. He knew that what this man was saying was the truth – his own presence in the controversial Soldier Enhancement Program was due to his fame. Being a known face helped with raising funds. That did not mean he approved.

The man scoffed in response, "You think I don't know that? I don't dislike you personally, Morrison. I dislike what you represent. The Army may need a pretty face to show to the world to paint us as the good guys, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it." Jack was feeling only slightly better at hearing that. "There are so many soldiers who works in the shadows. Risking their lives to do the dirty jobs that no one wants to do but that are necessary none the less and receiving nothing in return. Thankfully they don't do it for fame or glory, because sure as hell they're not going to receive any. They can call themselves lucky if they're simply forgotten. I think you can understand why I'm not so appealed by the idea of working with you."

Jack did not know what to say. He actually agreed with the man – several times he disliked how he was paraded around like some sort of trophy. However, he could not disobey a direct order, no matter what his personal opinions were on that subject. Furrowing his eyebrows, Jack thought long and hard on how to respond. He still believed that working together would be the best course of action.

After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally knew what to say. "You worked on black ops." It was not posed as a question. "You know of me and you already formed an opinion about me. I'm not going to ask you to just forget everything and start from scratch. It would not be right of me to ask you that and, honestly, I don't think it would be something possible to do."

Straightening his back, Jack took a deep breath before continuing, "You seem to be a man of action who dislikes nice words and crafted speeches, so I'm going to let my actions speak for themselves. Form your opinion about me after seeing what I can do and not only from what you have heard. I think this is the only way I can manage to earn your respect and show you that I'm not just the Army's poster boy."

Jack watched with trepidation as the man in front of him slowly arched an eyebrow. He seemed to actually take the idea into consideration. Several seconds passed and Jack was starting to lose hope until, all of the sudden, the man let out a single, faint chuckle while the smallest of smirks tugged at his lips. "Fine boy scout, I'll give you one chance. Only because I'm curious to see you on the field. I'm Gabriel Reyes."

Jack responded with his own smirk. This Gabriel Reyes decided to give him a chance and that was all he needed. He could definitely work with him, after all, he had much worse beginning in the past. "It's a pleasure to meet you Gabriel Reyes."

Suddenly the door swung open and a figure walked into the room. Jack and Gabriel turned towards the newcomer and both of them were a little bit puzzled by what they were seeing. The person who had just entered the room was a tall, easily over 6 foot, man with a tanned complexion, bright blue eyes and neck-length blond spiky hair. His frame was lean and muscular, not so dissimilar from the two other soldier in the room. He could actually pass for a relative of Morrison. There were three faded black lines, barely visible, on each of his cheeks. Possibly scars. But what most intrigued the two soldiers were his clothes – black jeans, combat boots and an orange V-neck t-shirt under a long sleeved dark grey, almost black, trench coat that reached under his knees. Typical civilian's clothes. He had no badge, no military uniform and no lab coat. What was this man doing here?

Dragging a chair in the middle of the room, the strange blond man sat in front of the two soldiers and made appear out of nowhere a bowl of ramen in his left hand and a pair of chopsticks in his right, which both of the soldiers now noticed was completely covered in bandages. He immediately started to merrily slurp the noodles, completely ignoring the other two men in the room who were sharing confused glances with each other.

After finishing the meal in just a couple of minutes, a fact in equal part both astonishing and disgusting, he finally considered Jack and Gabriel by giving them a goofy grin, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'll be your..." tapping his chin with the chopsticks, he assumed a thinking pose, "What was the word they used? Oh right, instructor! I'll be your instructor."

Glancing at the corner of his eyes, Jack saw that Gabriel was surprised by the situation. Good. He was not the only one to find the fellow blond's arrival weird. Clearing his throat, Jack gained Naruto's attention and asked the question that, most likely, was passing through the mind of both soldiers, "Instructor?"

"Of course!" Naruto nodded enthusiastically, as if what he had just said was the most logical thing in the world, "My job is to help you two get used to the new changes in your bodies. So…" he continued with a slight smirk and a glint in his eyes, "Are you two done exchanging friendship bracelets, so that we can start? Personally I've found Jack's speech extremely touching."

Gabriel's jaw tensed and Jack groaned softly to himself, but that did not stop Naruto. Considering his amused expression, he definitely noticed their discomfort and simply decided to ignore it and continue with his teasing. "You could feel his emotions behind every word. This is a man who knows the importance of teamwork. Bromance at his finest! And you, Gabriel, are just one big softie. So hard and cold on the outside, but sweet and fluffy on the inside. You almost got me for a minute with your strict military posture and constant emotionless face."

"How long have you been waiting to enter?" Gabriel's voice was unnervingly quiet and collected when he posed the question. The twitching eyebrow and clenched jaw were telling a different story on his current mood.

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ten minutes give or take."

Hearing the response, Gabriel's other eyebrow started twitching and Jack moved slightly away from the seething dark skinned man who continued to interrogate Naruto, "You waited for ten minutes, standing outside the door, just to eavesdrop our conversation?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Naruto said as he waved his bandaged hand dismissively in front of him, "I waited for twenty minutes. I spent the first ten debating which prank to use to properly introduce myself, then you started talking so I decided to eavesdrop. I was undecided between shish kabob and merry-go-round, if you were wondering."

Jack thought for a second what type of pranks would have those types names when he realized that it was better if he didn't know. They didn't sound pleasant.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was almost furious. They wanted this buffoon, a boy who looked like he had just reached drinking age, to be his instructor. His?! He did not spend more than a decade in the army for this. He might be willing to try to work with Morrison, only because the boy scout showed some balls and didn't back down when Gabriel basically dismissed him, but this he could not simply accept it.

Looking at the syringes on the medical tray next to him, Gabriel considered if he should show this clown who was the one who needed "instruction" between the two of them. After all, a syringe was not that different from a knife. At least in his hands. Naturally, he wouldn't do any permanent damage, just wound the buffoon enough to prove his point. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. His hand twitched towards the medical tray when he suddenly froze.

Bringing his hand to his right cheek, he felt a warm liquid on his fingertips. Gabriel moved his hand in front of his face and his eyes confirmed what he already suspected. His fingers were stained in blood. His blood. Slowly, Gabriel turned his head and, looking over his shoulder, saw a pair of chopsticks embedded in the wall behind him. The wooden sticks, still slightly vibrating, were gently humming in the silent room. How was that possible? One second he was about to attack and the next… this! He was a super soldier. His reflexes were above what any human could ever hope to achieve. How did he miss it? His wound was not even regenerating.

"Lesson number one," Naruto's calm voice broke the silence that filled the room, "Look underneath the underneath. Just because I act like an idiot, it doesn't mean that I'm not a possible threat. This actually brings me to the first problem that I want to address: your arrogance. And don't look at me like that," Naruto immediately said seeing the disgruntled faces of the two soldiers, "You two are arrogant but it's not entirely your fault."

Sighing, Naruto passed a hand through his hair and looked at the various medical equipment around the room, "A bunch of scientists came to you telling you that they had the magical serum to turn you into super soldiers and basically make you the perfect humans. I think it's perfectly normal to feel a little superior after hearing something like that. However, your first mistake was assuming that you two were the only ones with these abilities."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you a member of the program too?"

Chuckling, Naruto shook his head, "No, Jack. I'm the one from whom the magical serum came from." Their gaping faces were quite entertaining and Naruto considered for a moment if leaving them like that for a little longer, but in the end decided against it. He was never one for being mysterious and cryptic. It was more the style of Kakashi-sensei and the teme. "Yes, you didn't mishear me. All your cool and amazing superpowers came from me. You're welcome, by the way. No need to thank me."

Gabriel was a shocked by the revelation but quickly recomposed himself. Looking one last time at his bloody fingers, he moved his eyes towards his new instructor and scrutinized him more carefully this time. The blond's muscles were not tensed, his posture was completely relaxed and he wasn't constantly checking the area around him, not even once to be precise.

At first, Gabriel thought that he was simply a civilian with no training whatsoever, but now he realized the truth. Naruto was so strong that he didn't need to have his guard up. It wasn't arrogance or false bravado but a simple truth. They weren't a threat for him. Nothing was a threat for him. And this fact scared Gabriel. A lot.

"Why did you do it?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at Gabriel's question. "If what you just said it's true, why did you share your power? Why not keep it for yourself?" That was something the former black ops agent couldn't understand. If the roles were reversed, Gabriel was sure that he wouldn't have done it. Of course, there was always the possibility that Naruto was forced by the US Government, but the blond seemed willing to be here. He cracked jokes, he was relaxed and, most importantly, he immediately revealed his abilities to them. Naruto was definitely here of his own volition. Gabriel was even slightly unsure that the US Government – that anyone – could command him to do something against his will.

"Hmm? Why did I do it?" Naruto mused aloud while staring into thin air, "I grew up following a belief. A life philosophy the people of my village lived by, passing it through generation to generation. The Will of Fire, that was the name. Among the numerous teachings of this philosophy, there's one in particular that I had only learnt to appreciate thanks to a lazy friend of mine. The belief that the previous generation has the duty to protect, nurture and guide the next generation so that it may one day surpass it." His lips turned in a nostalgic smile and the two soldiers were surprised by how old the goofy blond now looked. "When the Omnic Crisis started I was curious to see how the different countries – the people – would react. The US Government knew about me, knew about my powers. So, when they asked me a sample of my blood for a super-secret project I thought, why not? You could say that I was simply curious to see what they could do. How they would deal with this crisis. What they could manage to accomplish with just a little of my help."

While Gabriel was looking at Naruto with a mixture of contemplation and disbelief, Jack was awed by the answer of the fellow blond. After the revelation of his abilities, Jack was intrigued. When Naruto hit Gabriel with the chopsticks, something he was still finding hard to believe, he felt slightly nervous. However, when he heard the reasons behind the choice of his instructor of being part of the Soldier Enhancement Program, Jack could only feel respect for him.

"You speak like an old man." Of course Gabriel had to say something like that and completely ruin the moment. Even if Jack looked apologetic, he couldn't stop the small smile tugging on his lips. He did spoke like an old man, after all.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto smiled along with the two men in front of him. If they only knew how true that statement was. "Well, now that all the tension is mostly gone I think we should talk about why I'm actually here." Both soldiers straightened their posture and gave Naruto their complete attention, diligently listening to him. "As I said before, I'm here to make you two combat ready as fast as possible. We have a training ground made specifically for us where we're going to work on getting the two of you readjusted to your new bodies. There, you're going to spar constantly against me until I don't deem you two ready. And who knows, maybe you'll learn a couple of new things in the meantime. I'm not going to lie to you, it'll probably take weeks if not months–"

"Months?!" Jack yelled as he shot up from the bed, "There's a war going on and people need us. We can't spend months sparring while others are fighting and dying out there!" Clenching his fists, Jack took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and slowly sat down again on the bed. "I'm sorry but I can't wait that long. Not when I know that my presence is so important for the war. Isn't that the reason why this program was created in the first place? To let us end the war?"

Naruto hummed to himself as he leaned back on the chair, "Think fast." With a flick of his wrist, Naruto gave Jack a fraction of a second to register the warning before throwing the empty bowl of ramen at him. As predicted, the blond soldier immediately raised his hand to catch it, managing to do so thanks to his amazing reflexes, but the moment his hand grabbed the bowl this shattered into pieces and Jack could on look dumbfounded at the single shard of ceramic between his fingers.

"That is why you're still not ready for the battlefield." Giving the fellow blond a sympathetic smile, Naruto continued to talk, "Trust me, I know very well what you're feeling. Knowing that your comrades are fighting while you're sheltered somewhere safe it's one of the worst experience you could ever have. You feel like you're betraying them but believe me when I say that if you would go on the battlefield as you are right now, you would do more harm than good. You're just like a teenager who got a Ferrari as a first car. All the power but zero control over it."

Jack deflated slightly and felt almost ashamed of his previous outburst. Naruto was their instructor and he had these abilities longer than them. He definitely knew what was better for them. The soldier should have trusted him.

"Stop being so harsh on yourself. I'm basically drowning in your self-deprecation now," Naruto joked lightly with a grin. "Your intentions are good and that's what counts in my book. I promise you that it'll might take a while but it'll be worthy in the end. Okay?" Seeing Jack nodding hesitantly but with a determined look in his eyes, Naruto continued, "Now. Tomorrow morning we're going to start with the training. I strongly advise you to have a good night's sleep. You'll need it. Are there any other questions?"

"I've got two." Naruto was surprised that Gabriel was the one who responded. The former black ops agent seemed fine with just listening and occasionally raising an eyebrow. "Throwing stuff in our faces is going to be a recurrent thing?" Oh, the stoic soldier did have a sense of humour after all. Now Naruto was even more surprised.

Thinking about it for a moment, he grinned as he responded, "Just don't give me a reason and I won't do it. It's always a shame wasting ramen-related utensils. Second question?"

"Will you make me stronger?"

"Yes," Naruto stated without a doubt, conviction clear in his voice, "I'll make both of you strong enough to end this war and protect everyone."

Gabriel stared fixatedly at Naruto, searching for something in his blue eyes. Finding what he needed, he gave him a curt nod, "Then we'll not have a problem."

"The same goes for me," Jack promptly stated. "We're all soldiers now. Nothing more, nothing less. You're in charge and we'll follow your orders."

Chuckling ominously, Naruto stood up from the chair and slowly moved toward the door. When he reached the threshold he stopped and turned his head toward the two confused soldiers. "Oh no, Jack. I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. You're not soldiers. You're all my bitches now." With that said, Naruto exited the room leaving behind two slightly shivering war veterans who were left wondering what exactly their new instructor meant by that.

As Naruto walked through the hallways toward the exit of the facility, his phone started ringing and he immediately brought it to his ear, already knowing who was calling him. "You've reached the phone of Naruto Uzumaki, the show-off, number one unpredictable, ramen eater extraordinaire. How can I help you?"

An exasperated sigh reached his ears, followed by a stern feminine voice that brought a huge grin on Naruto's face. "Why can't you act your age for once?"

"If I acted my age I would be lying six feet under somewhere in a casket. We've already been through this, Gabrielle," Naruto cheekily responded.

Sighing one more time, Gabrielle Adawe, the Secretary-General of the UN, decided to simply ignore Naruto and move on. In all the years she's known him, that's always been the best policy. "You know why I'm calling you. What do you think about the two super soldiers?"

"They have potential."

Gabrielle waited for Naruto to add something else but when he didn't she sounded a little disappointed, "That's it? They have potential? You've really got nothing else to say?"

"I've just met them, Gabrielle. They are what I expected," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders. "As we had already predicted, the serum only increased their physicals abilities – regeneration, strength, agility, speed and reflexes. They didn't unlock their chakra, so no ninjutsu sparring buddies for me unfortunately. That's a real shame, I was really looking forward to it. Finally teaching jutsu and having some–"

"Uzumaki, get back to the main topic," Gabrielle reminded him before he would forget the reason why she had called him. It wouldn't be the first time that he would simply change the subject during one of their conversations and she really didn't want to hear him talk about ninjutsu for half an hour. It was almost as bad as when he described the wonders of ramen. Almost as bad.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, their personalities are just as the profiles described them. They remind me of myself and an old friend of mine, but…" Naruto trailed off, unsure if he should say it or not.

"But?" Gabrielle questioned curiously, prompting him to continue.

"Well, that friend of mine he kind of tried to kill me… thrice. But then we've become great friends," Naruto finished as he grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. His and Sasuke's relationship could sound a little odd to whom didn't know the details.

"That's just great. Thank you Uzumaki. Knowing that our two candidates want to kill each other was just what I needed to hear," Gabrielle rebutted sarcastically.

Naruto was about to respond when he registered Gabrielle's exact words. "Wait a minute. Did you just say candidates?"

"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you. The UN approved the idea of creating an international task force – Titan. I think you deserve a thanks since this wouldn't have been possible without your help," Gabrielle said and Naruto could hear the satisfied smile on her face.

"Nah, you did all the work. I only gave you a couple of pointers. Now I realise why you're so interested in Morrison and Reyes. I'm surprised that they're already thinking about candidates though. And Titan, really? That's the name they're going with?"

"The name's temporary. Knowing the UN, it'll probably take several months if not years before the task force is actually created, but I don't want to be unprepared. Having a list of possible members is a good start and it'll speed things up in the future."

"I have to say that I'm a little bit miffed though," Naruto mumbled in a tone of mock hurt. "You never call and when you do you ask about other men. You wound me so, Gabrielle. Am I not enough for you? I'll tell you what – I'll give you all the details about my two little kōhai while we're having dinner… at my place."

"Are you coercing me into a date by using classified information?" Gabrielle questioned raising an eyebrow, not that he actually could see her face but he just knew that she was doing that, he could almost hear it.

Naruto scoffed at the question and slightly accusation, "Honestly, I don't see what the problem is. You get the information you want while enjoying my amazing company and delicious food. And you know my food is delicious, don't even try to deny it."

"Just a dinner and that's it. Nothing else is going to happen. Got it Uzumaki?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto's amused voice did little to reassure the UN Secretary. "What should happen? I just want to share a dinner with you."

"I'm serious Uzumaki. What happened in the past won't happen again," Gabrielle reaffirmed once more.

"You know," Naruto began to talk in a casual manner, "The fact that you keep bringing up what happened in the past between us it makes me almost think that you want it to happen again."

"… Just shut up Uzumaki. I'll be there at eight."

Chuckling to himself, Naruto could only smile broadly, "As you wish, Her Excellency."

 **Posted: 08/31/16**

 **Last Updated: 01/20/17**


	2. Chapter 2 - Right Beside You

**Chapter 2 – Right Beside You**

The smell of smoke and burning flesh invaded her nostrils. Squinting her eyes, she slowly shacked her head, trying to no avail to get rid of the noxious ringing in her ears. She carefully opened one eye and looked around, trying to find where her parents were. When she finally managed to focus her vision, she gasped as tears started building in her eyes. The streets were littered with debris and blood as screams, gunshots and explosions pierced the air. She remembered now – omnics were attacking them. She could see them marching in perfect synchronisation along the street of Zürich as they shoot everyone on sight.

One of them suddenly stopped in front of her. His red vertical visor, glowing ominously in the night, was reflecting in her watering blue eyes. A sob escaped her lips as she saw the omnic pointing its gun at her. Clenching her fists, she closed her eyes knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop it. Why all of this happened? She just wanted things go back to normal. She wanted her papa comforting her with one of his usual lame jokes and her mama hugging her close while gently rubbing her hair. But she knew that neither of these things was going to happen.

"CHARGE!"

Snapping her eyes open, she barely managed to see the blur that smashed into the omnic in front of her and continued moving forward, hitting four other omnics in its path. When it finally stopped, the blur revealed itself to be a quite intimidating figure. He was a very tall man, the tallest she has ever seen, wearing a massive medieval armour without the helmet. He had short platinum hair, a trimmed beard along his jawline and an angry red scar over his left eye.

Sporting a huge grin on his face, he bashed the group of omnics that he had just pinned down to the ground with his giant hammer. As he turned around, he put his weapon on his shoulder, a hand on his hip and scanned his surroundings narrowing his dark blue right eye. Once he was certain there were no omnics nearby he let out a boisterous laugh.

"Hahahahaha, I'm the ultimate crushing machine! Did you see that Torby? Five omnics with just one hit. It's quite impressive, if I do say so myself."

An equally armoured and bearded but much shorter man walked toward the crusader and responded in an exasperated manner, "I told you already Reinhardt, the size of the hammer doesn't matter."

"Torbjörn! Reinhardt! Less talking, more killing! Think about your stupid competition later," a dark skinned man garbed in a blue Kevlar armour shouted as he was followed by another blond soldier, wearing the same type of clothing under an open blue long coat with a white collar. The little girl recognised immediately the symbol on their armoured chests – Overwatch.

The blond man suddenly stopped on his track, two fingers still on his earpiece and a nervous expression on his face as he announced the information he had just received, "Gabriel, Titan incoming."

Everyone froze at those words. Spatting a curse, Gabriel looked at his friend in disbelief, "Please, tell me you're joking Jack. A Titan? Here? Where the hell did they hide it?"

"I wish I was. Ana just informed me through the radio. They're using a new camouflage technology. She's been able to spot it just thanks to her cybernetic eye," Jack reported, "We should focus on the civilian, evacuate as many people as possible before it's too late."

While the little girl saved by Reinhardt didn't understand a word they were saying – they weren't speaking in German after all – from the expression on their faces she at least realised that something bad was about to happen. Seeing the destruction around her, she wondered what else could happen to make it even worse.

Her answer was a massive omnic suddenly appearing on the outskirt of the city. It was walking in a straight line toward their position, leaving a path of destruction behind it. Nothing was stopping it – bullets, tanks, even buildings. It simply walked past them, never changing its course from its destination. Before anyone could even think to do something, its dual cannons positioned on its shoulders pointed toward the ground and fired.

Then gold filled her vision.

There were no omnics, no soldiers, no battles. Just pure golden flames as far as her eyes could see and she never felt safer in her entire life. She had the innate knowledge that everything would be all right. All of her worries and doubts simply disappeared, consumed by the same flames holding her in a warm embrace. They looked like a pair of wings to her. A pair of golden wings spread by a guardian angel to protect them from any arm.

Having done their job, the wings slowly dissolved into thin air and a single man appeared in their place, shrouded by the same golden aura, right behind her.

"Are you going to do something about that Titan or I have to do everything myself here?" Naruto teased them with a grin as he dispersed his Rikudō Sennin Mōdo and reappeared wearing his usual dark grey trench coat above a simple black muscle shirt and cargo pants tucked into combat boots.

Gabriel scoffed, trying to hide the smirk playing across his lips. After throwing his now empty rifle on the ground, he made appear another one in his hands and moved toward the Titan, shouting orders to the other Overwatch soldiers around him. Reinhardt broke out into a deep belly laugh and charged against the omnic as he raised his hammer high into the air, "Come forth my diminutive Swedish friend! We have a giant to slay!"

Torbjörn followed him reluctantly mumbling something in Swedish under his breath. Chuckling at the armoured duo, Naruto looked at Jack, the only soldier remaining, who responded with a thankful nod and moved into battle while contacting the other units on the field through his earpiece.

Seeing the automatic rifle Gabriel tossed to the ground, Naruto sighed as he massaged his temples. When Gabriel asked him to make him a portable storage dimension for backup guns he didn't think he would just throw them away after using them. "I just hope it doesn't become a habit," Naruto muttered to himself. He was sure that Gabrielle would find a way to make him pay every single bullet Gabriel wasted if she was so inclined. The budget was always a touchy subject for the UN Secretary-General.

In any case, now was not the time to think about the waste of taxpayers' resources. Someone else needed his attention. As he crouched down, Naruto quickly studied the little girl in front of him. She was probably around 8 or 9 years old, far too young to be on the battlefield. Dirt and dry blood covered her hair, leaving only a couple of tresses still maintaining their original blonde colour. Her cheeks were stained with tears and even now a few quiet sobs escaped her lips. Fortunately, she didn't seem to suffer any severe injury, just few scratches and bruises. A small consolation.

Giving her a soft smile, Naruto tentatively approached her. When she didn't back away, he gently picked her up in his arms and hoisted her on his hip. " _What's your name?_ " His deep and soothing voice startled her out of her reverie. It took her a second to realise that he had asked her a question in German and that she could actually understand him. With the adrenaline no longer running through her body, she was starting to feel all the stress and fatigue accumulated previously. Moreover, his peaceful and relaxing presence was slowly lulling her to sleep as her eyelids were gradually getting heavier and heavier.

Rubbing her blue eyes, she responded with a sleepy voice, " _Angela._ "

His smile widened slightly. " _Angela. It's a beautiful name._ "

" _Are you an angel?_ "

Naruto blinked a couple of times, not sure if he'd heard her correctly. That was not the type of question he was expecting. It was the first time someone called him an angel after witnessing his Rikudō Sennin Mōdo, usually they tended to use more menacing adjectives to describe him. Seeing her sleepy expression, he hugged her closer to his chest and softly rubbed her back.

" _No, Angela. I'm not an angel. Sleep now, I promise I'll protect you and everything will be over when you wake up._ " She mumbled something in his chest while tiredly nodding her head and in a second she was fast asleep, snuggling in the crook of his neck.

At times like this Naruto really regretted his decision to stay in the background. When he arrived in this world, he promised to himself that he wouldn't become its saviour. He was already the Saviour of _his_ world, this world needed its own heroes and protectors. He could end this entire war in less than an hour if he wanted to, but would it be the right thing to do? Simply being the magical solution for every problem?

He wanted to help this world, but that was it – just help it. Not control it, not change it and, most definitely, not rule it. He could do it, he had more than enough power to do so, but then he would be no different from Kaguya and Madara. Both of them wanted to bring peace to his world – a noble cause – but they were willing to trade people's freedom for it. That's a compromise Naruto could never accept.

Beside, this world was already on the right path. The advent of the Omnic Crisis forced the different nations to put their differences apart and cooperate with each other for the common good, just like the war against Akatsuki did for his own world. The formation of Overwatch was, hopefully, only the first step toward a peaceful future.

"Boss," Naruto didn't need to turn around to know who was behind him. They were a part of him, after all. "All the civilians have been evacuated and the shelters are marked and protected. What are our orders?" Just because he didn't want to be on the front lines, it didn't mean he couldn't send a couple of hundred of his clones transformed as nondescript Overwatch soldiers on the field. He promised to not fight their battles but Naruto Uzumaki would always try his best to protect the innocent. Maybe it was a little hypocritical of him – it definitely was – but Naruto couldn't live with himself if he didn't help a little.

"Very well, you know the drill. Clean the city and dispose of the cannon fodder. Leave the Titan to Overwatch. Also…" Naruto trailed off as he stared at his fidgeting clone, "Try to be a little more discreet when you use ninjutsu. We don't need what happened in Ilios to happen again. Right?" Nervously scratching the back of his head, the clone nodded sheepishly and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, relaying the message to every other clone.

Sometimes Naruto wondered if his clones evenly distributed not only his chakra but also his brain among them. With each one of them receiving only a fraction of it. After all, only a moron could think that the solution for a platoon of omnics was to create a giant hole under them. Thankfully no one was hurt – well, except the omnics – and Naruto later found out that several artefacts and relics were discovered at the bottom of the pit, so it wasn't completely a bad thing. Unfortunately, Gabrielle thought differently since she chewed him out for hours when she found out.

One second thought, he probably should check on his clones. You never know what they might to do the city. Silently moving into an alley, Naruto focused on the Hiraishin mark his clone put inside the shelter. Angela's safety first, idiotic clones later. With a single hand seal of his hand, Naruto and the sleeping Angela disappeared in a flash of light.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Hitting the table with his fist, Reinhardt leaned forward and glared at Torbjörn. "They don't move, Torby. They simply stay there, shooting you without budging an inch from their spot. How can you prove yourself in battle if your enemy is too afraid to engage you at close quarters like a real man?"

"They aren't men, they're turret. That's what they're supposed to do. Their job is to stay put and shoot. Do not insult turrets, Reinhardt. Otherwise, you'll have to find someone else to repair your armour," Torbjörn responded as he stood on his chair and stared back at him.

Reinhardt gasped, his clenched fist over his heart, "You wouldn't!"

"Just try me."

To the four other people sitting around the table, this was nothing new. When they decided to relax together right after the battle, as they always did, they all knew Torbjörn and Reinhardt would find something to argue about. Gabriel, stoic as always, was reading the reports of the battle, completely ignoring the arguing European duo. On the other hand, Jack was watching them arguing with an amused smile on his face as he took a drink of his beer. He always found the two of them hilarious. Naruto was too engrossed in the bowl of ramen in front of him to notice what the two of them were saying. And Ana…

"Children behave. Reinhardt respect other people opinion and Torbjörn don't blackmail someone just because they don't agree with you," Ana Amari said with a gentle but stern voice as she graciously sipped her tea. Her chocolate eyes closed as she enjoyed her favourite beverage. On top of her luscious black hair, her military beret was for once not present as it rested on the table in front of her. The blue Overwatch uniform she was wearing immaculate, without a spot or speck of dust. Just like always, the Egyptian sniper managed to remain compose and gracious even in the middle of the battlefield.

"Yes Ana," Torbjörn and Reinhardt muttered at the same time as they sat back down.

Trying not to laugh at the dejected expression of the two grown-up men scolded like children, Jack turned toward Naruto to ask him his opinion on the matter. When he saw a pile of empty bowls of ramen near his teacher who was happily patting his stomach, he couldn't help himself but wonder how was possible that this guy was the strongest being in the world. "Naruto, what do you think is the most annoying ability to fight against?"

Naruto didn't even have to think about the response, "Intangibility."

"Intangibility?" Gabriel repeated intrigued, looking up from the report he was reading. Knowing how strong Naruto was, he was expecting an ability a little more intimidating than that.

"Yeah. I had to fight a guy once who could turn himself intangible at will." Puffing, Naruto smacked a bandaged fist into the palm of his hand, "Every time you were about to hit him you would instead pass right through him. Not impossible to fight against but definitely annoying."

"You hate being unable to punch something. Why am I not surprise?" Ana responded amused while stirring her tea. Suddenly her eyes widened and a knowing look formed on her face. "Is that why you're so afraid of ghosts?"

"I told you that in confidence!" Naruto whispered harshly red-faced. Seeing the confused looks the others were giving him, Naruto immediately straightened himself and responded with the most dignified voice he could muster, "Ghosts are untouchable and invisible unless they don't wish to be seen or touched. When that happens, it's usually to mess with your life and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop them. My fear is completely logical."

The others glanced at each other before bursting out laughing, Gabriel included which was quite surprising. Jack, who was sitting right next to Naruto, was the one who was laughing the hardest. "Yeah, yeah… keep on laughing, you style stealer," Naruto rebutted while pointing at the blue coat his blond student was wearing. Jack snapped his mouth shut, his fingers involuntary clenching the fabric of his coat as his shoulders slumped. It wasn't his fault if long coats were cool.

Seeing their smiling faces, Naruto was glad that they could still laugh during wartime. All of them were veteran soldiers, so they knew very well how to cope with the stress of the war. However, they were also the face of Overwatch – the first international task force created for the purpose of dealing against the omnics. The world was watching their every move and they couldn't afford to make any mistake. That was a huge responsibility to have on your shoulders. If he could lessen their burden for a moment, even at his own expenses, then he was okay with that. His ego was not so easy to bruise. Still, Naruto Uzumaki was a prankster at the heart. He couldn't leave them having the last laugh.

"Well, I'd better go now," Naruto said with a beaming grin on his face, his eyes squinting. "Have fun spending ten hours stuck in a military cargo plane. See you at the base. Toodle-oo!" Giving them a two-finger salute, he disappeared in a flash of Hiraishin, leaving five soldiers staring at an empty chair.

After a couple of second, Ana sipped her tea, Jack straightened his coat and Torbjörn and Reinhardt started another argument. Scoffing, Gabriel returned to his report, "I really hate when he does that."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Making his way through the bustling street of the bazar, Naruto bumped his aviator sunglasses up his nose as he smoothly dodged the people on his path. Once he had learned the Hiraishin he thought that his day of actually walking from one place to another where finally over. Alas, not everyone liked having an amazing blond suddenly appearing in the middle of the living room. Preposterous if you asked him. What was there not to love?

Still, he respected her too much to not follow such a simple request. He just wished she didn't live in Cairo. Desert climate and his beloved long coat didn't go very well together. He was wearing a white one this time, with equally white linen pants and a light orange button up shirt with the first couple of buttons open under it. On his feet a simple pair of beige loafers protected him from the sand. He still found the heat suffocating even while wearing these light clothes. Thankfully, a quick application of wind chakra was all he needed to create a gentle breeze to keep himself fresh. And make his coat flutter dramatically in the wind, obviously. That was probably the most important feature.

As he reached his destination, he swiftly moved to the door and knocked with his bandaged hand. He heard the patter of tiny feet quickly approaching as he removed his sunglasses while his fingers were brushing the sand from his clothes. Suddenly the door swung open and a blur crashed into him.

"Uncle Naruto!"

"Fareeha!" Naruto yelled as he picked her up and twirled around. Her light blue summer dress swished in the air. "How is my little desert princess doing? Still following the training I gave you?" At her eager nod he leaned in and whispered conspirationally, "And when a boy talks to you, you're still doing as I told you right?"

"And what exactly did you tell my daughter to do, Naruto?" Ana asked with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed under her chest as she leaned against the door. Gone her military uniform for a simple white t-shirt and beige sweatpants which did nothing to hide her Amazonian figure. Long and powerful legs, toned arms, and a flat stomach. A life spent in the military definitely had his benefits. However, right now the only thing connecting her to the army was the tattoo of an Eye of Hours on her left eye. Now, she wasn't Ana Amari Overwatch's second-in-command. But simply Ana, Fareeha's mother.

"To kick them in the–"

Naruto covered the child's mouth before she could continue. His hand affectionately ruffling the black hair she inherited from her mother. "Absolute nothing! Now, why don't we go in? I don't think I'd be able to give a certain 6 years old her birthday gift if we stay under this scorching sun." Fareeha's eyes widened and she immediately jumped down from Naruto's arms and dragged him inside the house.

Ana could only snort in amusement as she followed them after closing the door behind her. Entering into the living room, she saw Naruto sitting on the couch, her daughter next to him bouncing with excitement. "What did you got me? A rocket? A flying suit? A cybernetic eye like mom's?"

Naruto looked confused at Ana and then back at Fareeha. "You're one strange kid. At least now I know what to give you for your next birthdays… Just kidding Ana! Just kidding!" Naruto said nervously, seeing stern the look Ana was giving him.

Clearing his throat, he pulled out a small square box from his coat that Fareeha snatched up and opened in a second. Inside there was a golden bracelet, 2 inches wide and completely covered in engravings. Ana glanced at Naruto, silently questioning if those symbols were what she was thinking they were. When Naruto curtly nodded she mouthed a thank you, receiving a playful wink as a response.

"Whenever you need me," Naruto said gaining Fareeha's attention, "You just need to hold this bracelet close to your heart and I'll be there in an instant."

"Really?"

"Infinite really. And there's more!" Ana didn't like at all the giddy tone Naruto was using. "You see that little whirlpool in the centre of the bracelet? If you press it for five second it'll create a–"

Doing just as he told her, Fareeha kept her finger on the symbol. The bracelet glowed for a second before it released a huge gust of wind. The once pristine living room was now in complete disarray – pictures fell of the walls, ornaments scattered across the floor and pieces of paper floating in the air. Getting up from the floor, Ana looked around her and then glared at Naruto who was making a good impression of a deer caught in the headlights.

"That! Was! Awesome! Thank you, uncle Naruto. This gift is amazing!" Fareeha shouted excited as she scrutinised her new bracelet, completely missing the tension between the two adults in the room.

"Honey."

"Yes mom?"

"Why don't you go in the courtyard and play with your new gift? I have to exchange two words with uncle Naruto."

"Sure mom."

The moment Fareeha leaved the room, Naruto jumped on his feet and frantically waved his hands in front of him, "I can fix it. Just give me five minutes." Two puffs of smoke followed his statement and the two newly formed Naruto's clones immediately began to clean up the room, smiling nervously while doing it. Taking a deep breath, Ana nodded her head and mindlessly moved into the kitchen. She really needed a cup of tea right now.

Five minutes and a couple of apologies later, she was sitting on the couch next to Naruto in her once again clean living room. "I can understand why you put the Hiraishin on it, but why did you add that second feature?" Ana asked calmly between sips of shai. Tea tasted always better at home.

"I wanted to give her a way to stall for time in case she was in danger. I don't think you would have approved the addition of explosives." Ana conceded his point. That ability could be very useful against a stronger opponent. Blasting your enemy away was always a good option when you didn't have other alternatives.

"Thank you."

Chuckling, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "You don't need to thank me, Ana. I care about her. Of course I would to my best to protect her. I'm not as irresponsible as I look… most of the time," Naruto said with a grin and she couldn't help but smile along. "So, how are Jack and Gabriel doing?"

Ana's smile morphed into a frown at the question. Putting down her empty teacup on the coffee table in front of her, she let out a heavy sigh, "Gabriel's still resenting Jack for the position of Strike-Commander and Jack wants Gabriel to follow his orders without complaining. The war ended not even a month ago, we're finally recognised officially as an international task force and we're already fighting again, amongst ourselves this time. And I can't even say something without them thinking I'm picking one side over the other. I don't know what to do Naruto."

Holding her hand, he gave her a reassuring squeeze as he started to pour a cup of tea for himself. "You might be a mother but your child is in the courtyard blasting away your garden, not two thirty years old man who can't see past their own egos. Babysitting them isn't your job."

"It's not that simple."

"I know. That's why I'm here," he declared proudly puffing his chest.

"And what is your plan? Lock them inside a room and make them fight each other?" At his guilty expression, she rolled her eyes. "Not everything can be resolved by a couple of punches."

Naruto pouted. "It's always worked out fine for me."

"Yeah, always fine…" she trailed off glancing at his bandaged arm. Naruto told her how he and his best friend managed to put their differences aside. She didn't want Jack and Gabriel to follow the same path. "Well, you're a dimensional hopping, centuries-old ninja, who reached this planet just because he was too bored at his own home world. I don't think what applies to you applies to others."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and brought the cup of tea to his lips. Most of his friendships were formed after a good fight, usually with him doing a lot of ass kicking – but that wasn't relevant right now. "Anyway, things should get better in the future. I heard they want to create a division of Overwatch and give the command of it to Gabriel."

Ana arched her eyebrow. "A new division?"

"Blackwatch, focused on covert operations."

"I don't like it," she said scrunching her nose. "We're a task force for peace. Why should we hide what we do? I had to kill some people as a sniper, but I didn't need to hide it."

"I don't like it either Ana, and I'm a ninja." Turning toward her, Naruto looked at her into her brown eyes, "Do you trust Gabriel?"

"Yes. You know I do. You don't even need to ask that."

"Then just continue to trust him." Passing a hand through his hair, Naruto sighed, "Gabriel feels betrayed right now. He guided all of you during the war and to reward him they casted him aside. Jack is a great leader and he deserves his position, but I can understand why Gabriel may resent him. This Blackwatch is exactly what he needs. Black operations have always been his speciality and there he can prove his skill not only as an agent but also as a leader."

As he put down the teacup, he leaned down on the couch and continued, "He'll probably try to do all by himself, never asking for help. Don't let him do that. Remind him that you and the others are still his friends and you're ready to support him. Don't let him isolate himself. Sometimes, simply being there is the best thing to do."

"Fine, I'll tell the others," sighing, Ana rested her head on his shoulder. "Now enough talking about Overwatch. I asked this week of leave because I wanted to spend time away from it." She smiled as she heard her daughter's excited squeals from the courtyard, "It means a lot to Fareeha that you're here for her birthday. When you left two weeks ago for a mission she was worried you'd miss it."

"I promised I'd be here. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Right in that moment Fareeha whizzed into the room with her hair tousled, a wide smile on her face and her new bracelet proudly displayed on her right wrist. Her gaze fell upon the two adults on the couch and she straightaway moved to sit on Naruto's lap.

Seeing her daughter happy expression, Ana asked her while combing her daughter's ruffled hair with her fingers, "Did you like your present?" Fareeha nodded vigorously as she hugged the bracelet close to her chest.

"I'm glad you like it. You probably noticed that you had to wait some seconds before using it again, so I'm going to teach you exactly when and how to use it right. With my help, you'll be able to blast away whoever you wish in no time!" Naruto declared pompously.

When he had decided to incorporate some defensive mechanism in the bracelet, he immediately thought about Nagato's Shinra Tensei (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God) and decided to imitate it. Of course, it wasn't as powerful. Nagato could destroy easily a town with it, Fareeha couldn't even topple a house. The seal he put on his bracelet used natural energy – extremely powerful but hard to control. The bracelet would slowly absorb it and change it in wind natured chakra, ready to be released. If he tried to increase the force of the seal, it would probably explode.

"Does this mean you won't go on a new mission?" Fareeha asked as she traced the engravings on the bracelet with her finger while shyly glancing at Naruto.

Wrapping his arms around Fareeha, Naruto smothered her into his chest all the while yelling dramatically, "I'm a terrible person! Leaving my precious little desert princess all by herself, making her feel abandoned! Don't worry, uncle Naruto is here and will never ever leave you again."

Slightly dazed, Fareeha squirmed out of Naruto's embrace and took a deep breath. Once reassured that Naruto was not going anywhere, she interrogated him unable to restrain her childish curiosity, "Great! So… where did you go? What did you do on your mission? Was it classified? Did you fight someone strong?"

"Even I'd like to know," Ana said interrupting her daughter who was about to hyperventilate, "You simply left, telling us that you were going somewhere but never specified where. I know that it wasn't a mission for Overwatch. You never do those. Technically, you aren't even a member of Overwatch." Naruto was more an honorary member of Overwatch. He simply was there because he wanted to. Obviously, the UN offered him the position, but he cordially refused it. He was the Nanadaime Hokage, not a UN agent.

"I went in Nepal. I wanted to see the Shambali Monastery and talk with the omnics there. They're a good bunch even if they do have rather strange… fascinations" Naruto responded with a grimace on his face.

"What kind of fascinations?" Ana asked warily. She had nothing personal against omnics, but the memories of the war were still fresh in her mind.

"Balls."

"Balls?" mother and daughter echoed confused.

Nodding sagely, Naruto stated once again, "Balls everywhere."

Ana rolled her eyes as she picked up the tea tray on the coffee table. "Sure, Naruto. If you say so. Why don't you start to teach Fareeha how to use her bracelet? I'll be there in a moment." Moving into the kitchen, she couldn't help but smile as she faintly heard Naruto blabbing about mystical floating balls while Fareeha pushed him toward the courtyard.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Extremely long author note:** Thank you all so much for the amazing response on the first chapter. I was definitely not expecting something like that. A special thanks to those who pointed out any error I've made and, I know it may sound sarcastic, but I really mean it. English is not my first language – I'm actually Italian (c'è qualche compatriota italiano che mi legge? ;D) – so I'm always afraid to make mistakes whenever I write. I personally hate when I read a good fanfiction with a nice plot and characters I like, but it's written poorly. You simply can't enjoy the story to the fullest and I don't want mine to be like that.

Anyway, I want to talk about one particular mistake I made. Not because I'm some kind of masochist who enjoys punish herself, but because I honestly find it hilarious. An amazing guest told me that I wrote "treat" instead of "threat" and, reading back those lines, that simple spelling mistake makes the scene so funny.

Gabriel Reyes is terrified of Naruto Uzumaki because he doesn't see him as a TREAT.

Please, just picture it in your mind for a second, tell me if it isn't funny. And if you're saying it's not, then you're lying to yourself. It kind of sounds like the incipit of a yaoi fanfiction between Naruto and Reyes. Nevertheless, dear guest you wrote that "you can't help yourself but chuckle" when you read that and I must say… I totally agree with you. Thank you again for pointing that out.

Another guest told me that I misunderstood the meaning of the word "teme".

I want to say that I know that "teme" means "you" in an offensive manner and not "bastard". I've never watched the anime dubbed in English so I'm not familiar with the English translation. That paragraph was written from the perspective of Naruto, ergo why I wrote "Kakashi-sensei" and not simply Kakashi. I wanted to show that even if this Naruto is outside of the manga, the relationships he created during the manga itself are still there. Kakashi was his teacher and teme is the first word that comes to his mind when he thinks of Sasuke, in an endearing way of course. I wanted to show that this Naruto isn't just an OC in the Overwatch universe who simply looks like and share the name of Naruto Uzumaki, but he's the real thing. I hope I explained myself. Probably I confused you even more and I'm sorry for that.

Anyway, I think that's it. Wow, that was long author note. I'm not going to put an author note this long every chapter. At least, I hope so. I really wanted to tell you this couple of things so… sorry for wasting your time. And if you're still reading this then thank you. You deserve a cookie. Okay, that's it. I must stop now. Now. In this moment. This is going to be my last word. I'm slowly walking away from the keyboard. My fingers are barely touching the keys and my arms are stretching to the limit. I just felt my shoulder pop, maybe that was not a good idea. I should really stop. Now I'm just rambling. Are you seriously still reading this? This isn't a Marvel movie, you know? You don't have to stay until the very end. There's not going to be a post-credit scene advertising a future story of mine. Huh, maybe I should do that. Just kidding, I'm not going to. Too much work.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 05/09/16**

 **Last Updated: 01/20/17**


	3. Chapter 3 - Measure Twice, Cut Once

**Chapter 3 – Measure Twice, Cut Once**

No Ramen, No Life.

To most people this may sound like a silly statement and they wouldn't be completely wrong to believe that. After all, how could someone possibly attribute the meaning of existence to a bowl of salty noodles and broth? Sure, it could be an amazing bowl of ramen, but it'd still be, you know… a bowl of ramen.

Naruto was not like most people.

His love for all things noodly was something you could always count on. A universal truth that literally transcended time and space. Ramen wasn't a simple food item for him, it was so much more than that. Several described his obsession as unhealthy, childish or straightforwardly disgusting and, while at first Naruto tried to change their minds, after a couple of decades he simply decided to let them be and enjoy his ramen in peace.

He realised that they didn't understand what ramen meant to him. They didn't know what was the history behind it. So, they couldn't possibly comprehend why he was so obsessed with this particular meal.

Ramen was what Teuchi-jiji gave to him when he first entered in his shop. Instead of throwing him out, like any other villager did before him, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen welcomed him with a warm smile on his face and a steaming, free bowl of noodly goodness in his hand.

Ramen was what Iruka-sensei offered him when he finally accepted him as his student. No longer seeing him as the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi but as an orphan who, just like himself, thrived to be acknowledged.

Ramen was what he shared with Team 7, both old and new, and the rest of the Konoha 12 between missions. Even if they were all busy with their duties as shinobi, they still found the time to share a bowl of ramen to catch up and talk with one another.

And most importantly, ramen was the food his family loved. Naruto considered himself lucky to have found a loving wife who, not only accepted his addiction, but shared it with him. How Hinata was able to beat him at every ramen contest still eluded him, especially considering it wasn't even her favourite food – that spot was reserved for cinnamon rolls. Even their two amazing children weren't that different. He remembered very well the day Boruto and Himawari ate their first strands of noodles all by themselves. He never felt so proud.

Naruto's memories of his friends, family and loved ones were all related to ramen somehow and now, even after centuries had passed, he still smiled warmly when he recollected those moments while he ate his favourite food. And why shouldn't he? He lived a fulfilling life with no regrets. He married the love of his life and stayed by her side until the very end. He became the leader of his village and brought true peace to his world. And he saw his kids grow up and start families of their own, followed by several generations of Uzumaki.

It hadn't been always like this, at first the loneliness was almost unbearable sometimes, but then he remembered something important. Just because his precious people were no longer with him, it didn't mean that they were truly gone. Only if he discarded their feelings and memories he would really abandon them. It was a lesson that Hinata taught him… in the middle of the war… by slapping him in the face. In hindsight, he kind of deserved that and he loved reminding her that episode to see her blushing and stuttering. She was just so adorable when she was embarrassed.

Besides, when Naruto found out about his immortality, Hinata made him promise to stay the same man she fell in love with – an unpredictable, goofy, compassionate, strongminded, outgoing, wonderful human being. Her words not his. Well, maybe Naruto added just a couple of adjectives but just a few. Lack of modesty aside, Uzumaki Naruto never broke a promise and never went back on his word. After all, that was his nindō, his ninja way.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that looking for a good ramen shop was the first thing Naruto did when he arrived into this world. He already knew ramen existed here, he wouldn't have chosen this world otherwise. A world without ramen was a world not worth living in. His quest to find the perfect bowl of noodles brought him to Japan, a nation with a culture closely resembling the one from his own world. Far and wide he travelled across the archipelago, tasting hundreds of different types of ramen, and finally he found what he was looking for in the city of Hanamura.

Rikimaru Ramen Shop.

A simple food joint which, besides serving ramen, had a toad as a mascot. A toad. At least it looked like a toad to him, a really creepy one. A restaurant that had his favourite animal on its logo and served his favourite food. Naruto couldn't have asked for something better. However, ramen and a quite disturbing amphibian wasn't the only thing he found at the food joint. There he found something else, or better, someone else.

"… and then he told me that the elders disapproved of me, that my juvenile behaviour was unacceptable and a disgrace for our clan and that I should be more like him when he was my age. Can you believe that? I should be more like him?! Sure, if I wanted to be an arrogant, snobbish, full of myself… hey! Are you even listening to me?"

Naruto hummed as he swallowed a mouthful of ramen and promptly summarised what he had just heard, "You snuck out. They found out. Stuck-up older brother scolded you. Now tell me Genji-kun, do you know what you did wrong?"

Genji, a fourteen years old boy wearing black sneakers, a white t-shirt and shorts under an amazing – for Naruto – orange sleeveless hoodie, scratched his head and responded in an unsure voice, "I… let myself get caught?"

"Correct, my little kōhai," Naruto said sagely, bonking him on the head with his chopsticks as he finished his meal. "If you want to break the rules, do it properly or not at all. You want to be a ninja, right? Think of it as training. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from them and try again. Remember: if you do not enter a toad's pond, you will not catch its tadpoles."

Genji scrunched up his face in confusion. Wasn't the saying about a tiger's cave and its cub? Shaking his head, he retrieved his own chopsticks. Naruto always had a strange fixation with toads. "And about Hanzo-niisan? He's always bugging me to be just like him. Just because he's going to be the next head of the clan, it doesn't mean I have to become his second in command. He told me that I'll have to attend the elders' meetings from now on. Be a more active member of the family. My life doesn't revolve around the clan. Honestly, the less I have to do with it the better."

Naruto looked at Genji's downcast expression from the corner of his eye and waited patiently for the boy to continue. Family was always a difficult subject for him to talk about, especially considering his family was an international criminal organisation involved in assassinations and illicit trafficking in weapons and drugs.

"They think I'm too young to notice, but I saw how people treat us. Hanzo-niisan talks about honour and respect. People don't respect us. They fear us," Genji said tightening his grip on his chopsticks. "Whenever someone finds out I'm a Shimada their behaviour changes completely. It's not right. I don't want to be a part of something like that, even if it's my own family."

"That's a rather bold claim to make, you know. Your clan definitely won't approve." Just as his shoulders slumped, Genji felt a hand tousling his spiky dyed green hair affectionately. Looking up, he saw Naruto smiling broadly at him. "Thankfully, I'm nothing like your clan. You got guts gaki and if there's one thing I'm sure of is that a ninja needs a lot of guts. As long as you follow your instinct you'll be fine and if you're in trouble remember that I'm here. Okay?"

"Of course I've got guts." After fixing his hair, Genji picked the noodles up off his bowl. All the previous tension gone from his face, replaced by a cocky smirk as he loudly declared, "And I'll even be a better ninja than you! You'll see, ojisan!"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but his cell phone stopped him as it started to ring. Recognising the number on the screen, he pressed a button and brought the phone to his ear as Genji ate his ramen with a smug grin on his face. "Buonjour Gérard, what've you got for me? I hope it's something important. It's my ramen time and you know how important it is to me," he said in a mock serious tone while Genji snickered next to him.

"Are you sure?" Naruto's smile dropped, a rare serious expression on his face. "That's exactly what I was afraid of. No, thank you Gérard. You did the right thing by warning me. You did a good job and for the last time, you don't need to calm me sir. Just Naruto it's fine."

Dropping enough yen on the counter to pay both of their meals, Naruto stood up, dusted off his trench coat and ruffled Genji's hair once again. "I have to go now, gaki. I'll probably be busy for a couple of days but if you need anything call me, alright? And if the elders are bothering you too much, then I'll show you what you can do with a dozen of hot dogs and some wire strings." Smiling at the confused but strangely intrigued expression on Genji's face, the two ramen lovers exchanged one last goodbye before Naruto exited the food joint. As he walked through the crowded streets of Hanamura, no one noticed when the blond vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

When the UN established Overwatch as an international peacekeeping task force after the Omnic Crisis, one issue immediately arose: each country wanted to have the headquarters situated in its own territory. While Naruto very much enjoyed the irony of the situation, seeing nations fighting one another over a peacekeeping task force, Gabrielle on the other hand was rightfully so quite frustrated. More than once Naruto had to physically restrain her to stop her from simply bashing several state leaders on the head. It may have been satisfying for a moment, but not worth in the long run.

Now, seeing all the new faces around him as he walked through the halls of the headquarters situated in Switzerland, Naruto felt pride swell in his chest. Overwatch was growing. More and more people were joining the ranks, each of them sharing the same belief that peace was not just a fantasy – an elusive goal you could never manage to reach. But a reality at your fingertips, ready to be grasped.

His civilian clothes earned him a couple of raised eyebrows from the newest members of Overwatch. A man wearing a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue jeans and, of course, bright orange shoes under a dark grey trench coat was not something that you saw every day strolling through the halls of the Overwatch headquarters. However, what was even more surprising was how every senior agent on his path saluted him with respect. Naruto groaned silently under his breath as he awkwardly waved back. At least they weren't calling him Lord Seventh.

As he entered the room he was looking for, Naruto found himself in a rather peculiar situation. Sitting on one of the couches was Ana, who was methodically taking apart and reassembling her rifle with a frown on her face. As always, she was wearing her standard blue Kevlar Overwatch armour. In front of her, Torbjörn was almost her exact opposite. Garbed in a red mechanics jumpsuit, the Swedish engineer was snickering to himself while looking positively giddy as he stroked his beard with his mechanical arm. His single visible eye twinkling with mirth.

When Ana began to disassemble her rifle once again, Naruto decided to let his presence be known. "Okay…" he began talking, raising an eyebrow at the strange situation in front of him. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Jack and Gabriel are discussing about something in Jack's office. Ana's been like this since she left said office and Reinhardt is busy training the new recruits," was Torbjörn's quick reply. At least now Naruto realised what made the Swedish so happy – Torbjörn loved drama almost as much as he loved his turret. Whenever some shenanigan was happening, you could always count on him being there enjoying the scene as if he were watching some sort of soap opera.

Grimacing at the thought of the poor recruits under the crusader's guidance, Naruto seated next to Ana. Reinhardt could be a little… passionate about training. If he didn't organize another joust, Naruto was sure that the recruits would be fine. Mostly. Hopefully. "That's good to know. But why is Ana pissed?"

"I'm not pissed. I don't know what gave you the idea that I'm angry about something. I'm simply cleaning my rifle like any competent sniper should do. I'm not angry." Her statement would have been a lot more convincing if she wasn't snappily assembling her rifle while saying it.

Sighing at her passive-aggressive behaviour, Naruto cleared his throat and looked at the giggling Torbjörn, "Don't you have that project to work on?" At his confused expression, Naruto cleared his throat once more and jerked his head toward Ana, hoping he'd get the hint, "You know… that project… about the new thing… in your workshop… not here."

"Nah, I think I'll stay. This promises to be quite entertaining." Naruto simply stared at him, paying no attention to his pleading look. Finally relenting, Torbjörn stood up and reluctantly walked out of the room muttering under his breath, "Fine, fine. I'm going. You're such a spoilsport sometimes."

After making sure Torbjörn was really gone and not simply eavesdropping outside the room – it wouldn't have been the first time – Naruto sat down and gave Ana a concerned look. "Are you going to tell me what happened to make you so tense? And please, don't tell me that there's nothing wrong because you and I both know it's not the truth."

"Jack and Gabriel are discussing, again. And they both believe that my opinion is not needed on the matter." Bringing her rifle up to her shoulder, Ana took a deep breath as she aimed at the wall in front of her. "I think I should be grateful that at least they seem to agree on something for once. They told me that once they established a plan of action they will inform me and the rest of Overwatch. Until then I've to be a good soldier and wait for orders. I know that the situation in Australia is complicated, but at least I was hop–"

"Did you say Australia?" Naruto interrupted her abruptly.

"Yes, why? Do you know something?" Ana had barely the time to drop her rifle on the couch, before Naruto took her hand and dragged out of the room. "Naruto what's going on?"

"I need to speak to all of you," he said to her as he strode through the halls and she realised he was bringing her toward Jack's office, "Just give me a minute and I promise I'll explain everything."

Ana squeezed his hand and gave him a nod in response. In all these years, Naruto had always been their rock, their stability. For the rest of the world they may have been heroes, but Naruto was their own personal one. Whenever you had a problem, he was always there ready to help you, listen to you or simply give you a shoulder to lean on. If he asked you to do something, you did it without question because you knew that he had always your best interest at heart.

As they barged into Jack's office, the two super soldiers stopped arguing and turned their heads toward the door. Jack was leaning forward with his hands spread on the desk. His long coat with the Strike-Commander pin on the collar was hanging on the back of the chair behind him, showing the simple blue muscle shirt and cargo pants he wore under it. In front of him, an unimpressed and annoyed Gabriel stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His clothes were the same he wore during the war and what every Overwatch agent sported on the field. However, they were completely painted black, identifying him as a member of the Blackwatch division.

Stretching his neck, the Overwatch commander sighed, "Naruto, right now it's not a good moment."

"Sit."

The two soldiers in front of him immediately sat down and straightened their backs. Naruto almost never used that tone of voice. Commanding. Authoritative. The voice of the Nanadaime Hokage. However, when he did you could only shut up and listen. "Ana told me you're arguing about what's happening in Australia. Let me guess, Jack wants to support the Omnic community while Gabriel thinks we shouldn't involve ourselves in the situation."

At the end of the war, the Australian Government decided to gift its country's omnium – the factory where omnics were self-produced – and the surrounding area to the omnics, hoping to establish a long-term peace accord. While this sounded like a great deal for the omnics, several Outback's residents found themselves suddenly without a home and they were definitely not very happy about it. In response, they formed the Australian Liberation Front – the ALF – and struck against the omnium and its robot population to take back their lands.

It was quite obvious for Naruto that the two super soldiers would have opposite opinions on the matter. Jack agreed with the Australian Government, seeing the treaty as a step forward toward a better relationship between human and omnics. On the other hand, Gabriel sympathised with the ALF's cause, especially considering his own strong dislike toward the omnics.

Looking at the ceiling, Naruto tiredly asked them, "What is the first thing I taught you?"

"Look underneath the underneath," they promptly responded.

"Look underneath the underneath, exactly. I'm happy to know you two still remember that." As he nodded to himself, he slowly walked toward the two soldiers, towering over their seated forms. "So, could you tell me why you are not seeing what is going on around you? You're too busy fighting on what you should do that you're missing what is happening right under your nose. That is not what I taught you."

"What did we miss?" Gabriel asked, his voice marginally smaller and humbler than usual. Being scolded by Naruto was the worst feeling ever, and he has been shot multiple times.

"Let's do a quick recap, shall we. The ALF was formed barely six months ago. In those six months, its members managed to infiltrate the omnium dozens of times, sabotage several machines inside of it and hijack military resources which were supposed to be used against them." The three soldiers widened they eyes as they realised what Naruto was implying. "Don't you find it a little odd how efficient they are?"

Gabriel frowned, he hated omnics but he hated being made a fool even more. "Someone's helping them. Do you know who?"

"No, unfortunately. I can tell you that they're good though. They barely left a trace behind. Everything that I've found is in that report. That's actually the reason why I'm here in the first place," Naruto said while pointing at a folder on Jack's desk.

Standing up, both Jack and Gabriel moved toward the desk and picked up the files. The two soldiers exchanged a quick glance conveying a single thought. When and how did he drop the folder? Shrugging their shoulders, they continued to read the documents when Jack asked a question, "Who's Gérard Lacroix? His name appears several times."

"He works in the IT department. Every contact between the ALF and its mysterious benefactor happened online and you know how much I hate computers. He was the one to find and reconstruct the various electronic traces they had left behind. I simply brought him the files and he did all his hacking mumbo jumbo. I tried to follow what he said to me but I lost him when he started talking about things like XOR Chiper and Skycode." Naruto had never learnt to use a computer. Sure, he knew the basic thanks to his time spent as Hokage. He could easily read and send e-mails and open a file but he wasn't a hacker, not even close.

"Isn't he sixteen or something?" Gabriel questioned as he read through the documents.

"Yes, he's the one who managed to hack into the computer database of Overwatch when he was fourteen years old and that's why now he's working in the IT department. On our side, this time. He's really good." Tilting his head, Naruto smiled mischievously at Gabriel, "Have you already forgotten your lesson to not judge from the appearance? Do I need to take another pair of chopsticks to remind you?"

Swiftly placing his hand over his right cheek, Gabriel nervously shook his head side to side. He still got the scars of the first time Naruto threw a pair of chopsticks at him. Thankfully, no one ever asked him how he got those particulars scars on his face. He had to blackmail Jack just to be sure that no one would know about it.

"There's still something missing though…" Ana said more to herself than to the others in the room. She decided to carefully listen to whatever Naruto had to say before make an educated guess and there was something that she simply couldn't understand. "Why are they helping the ALF? There's not so much to earn from helping them. They're mostly survivalists, solar farmers and hermits that live in the Outback. With what they could repay them? There are easier and cheaper way to get that plot of land in the Outback."

Appearing next to Ana, Naruto put his hand around her shoulder and squeezed her tight against his chest. "And that's why Ana is my favourite! She knows to look underneath the underneath and she wasn't even my student." Said students could only grumble at the smug smile on Ana's face.

"I have a theory about why they should help the ALF, but for once I really hope that I'm wrong." As he dropped his arm to his side, all trace of mirth disappeared from Naruto's face.

"They want to start a second war."

Passing a hand through his hair, Naruto pointed at the documents in Jack's and Gabriel's hands. "The only thing ALF is accomplishing with its action is to increase the tension between human and omnics. Whenever there's a war, there's always someone making money out of it. A second conflict against the omnics could mean a lot of revenue for the right people."

"A Second Omnic Crisis…" Ana breathed out in disbelief.

"It's just a theory but it's not so farfetched." Turning toward the two male soldiers, Naruto stared firmly at them. "Now you realised why I was so… disappointed by your behaviour. The world is counting on you to protect them and you can't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment. I'll always be here to help you, but I won't do your job. I trained you better than this. I trained you so that you wouldn't need my help."

Jack slumped on his chair, his eyes still lingering on the folder on top of his desk. Was he really so busy fighting against Gabriel that he forgot his priorities? He was supposed to be a role model. Instead, he needed Naruto to remind him what he had to do. He was the Strike-Commander, so he'd better start acting like it. "Gabriel, can your people manage to infiltrate the ALF?"

Humming in thought, Gabriel scratched his chin, "Yes. It'll take sometimes, of course. Those types of extremist groups usually are close-knit communities, with members knowing each other for years and distrustful toward outsiders. Difficult to infiltrate but not impossible."

"We should let Gabriel being in charge on the field, Jack," Ana suggested as she took a couple of steps forward, "I know that you want to help, but unless the Australian Government doesn't ask of Overwatch personally, our presence there would only scare the ALF away. We can't let it know that we're after it. Right now the only advantage that we have is the fact that the ALF doesn't know that we know about this mysterious organisation helping from the shadows."

Jack really didn't like it. He hated not being directly involved in an operation, especially one important as this one. However, he trusted Gabriel. No matter how many times they may fight, Jack knew that the Commander of Blackwatch was a good friend and an excellent soldier. Sometimes even better than himself. Not that he would actually say that to him. Gabriel's ego was already big enough. "Fine. But I want a report on the situation every week. And I mean every single week Gabriel, not whenever you feel like it."

"Yeah boy scout, don't you worry. You'll get your reports. I'll even personally bring them to you. How does that sound? And Ana," Gabriel added as he looked at the sniper, "I need you to introduce me to your contacts in Australia. I already have in mind who…"

As the three soldiers started to discuss the possible course of action, Naruto slowly backed away toward the door and silently exited the office. When he closed the door behind him, he could still hear the muffled voices coming from inside. Good, they didn't notice he was gone. He warned them about the threat, now it was up to them to deal with it. His job was done. He would stick around for a couple of days, just to see with what they would come up, but hopefully they wouldn't need his help.

In the meantime, he had to find something to do to pass the time. A bored Naruto was a dangerous Naruto, especially with all this new innocent recruits around him. So young and naïve, they were just begging him to be pranked. Speaking of recruits, maybe he could go see Reinhardt training the new batch of candidates. That definitely sounded entertaining. Torbjörn was probably there too enjoying the show. Naruto had to agree with his Swedish friend though. There was something cathartic in seeing an over 7 feet tall mountain of German muscles jollily throw around men and women like they were confetti at a wedding.

It took him a couple of decades, but Naruto finally realised the joy of teaching – torture your students just as much as your own teachers tortured you. Jack and Gabriel could consider themselves lucky that he didn't give to them the Maito Gai's training regime. Naruto wasn't so sure the two super soldiers could have handled such a youthful training. Both physically and mentally.

Some things were better left buried and forgotten.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** Hi everyone! New chapter, new author note. I don't know why this chapter was so difficult to write. Honestly, I don't think it's the best but… meh. I hope you still enjoyed it.

Many are concerned that Overwatch characters will suddenly gain chakra or new types of power. Let me be clear about it: it's not going to happen. I'm a little bit surprised that some people didn't realise what I'm doing, think about it. Gabriel has infinite guns and he's intrigued by the ability to pass through physical matter. Fareeha can blast away people with a flick of her wrist. Angela, a blonde blue-eyed girl from Zürich, is fascinated by a golden-winged guardian angel. Ring any bell?

About the title of my story, I noticed that there's a song on Youtube about Overwatch called "Watching Over You". Well… that's awkward. It's a really nice song, but my title didn't come from there. You probably noticed that I'm using quotes from Overwatch (said by Soldier: 76, Mercy and Genji respectively) as titles of my chapters. The same title of the story is also a quote (Mercy: "I'll be watching over you"). I simply removed the "I'll be" because it's not just one person: Naruto is _watching over_ Overwatch, which is _watching over_ the world. I thought it was an appropriate title.

Beside, this Naruto is a lot like the Mercy of the game: always babysitting others and being frustrated about it. Playing support is so hard.

I'm happy to inform you that I finally did it. Reviews, favourites and follows are nice and dandy, but your story isn't a real story until you don't receive your very first flame (it's this what they're called?). And receive it I did. Unfortunately, I cancelled the anonymous review just because it was so… boring. It was literally the world "kys" (Kill YourSelf) repeated over and over again. That's it, nothing more. I don't really mind if you insult me or my story, but please at least do it in an original way. Now that I think about it, I probably shouldn't incite people to insult me on the internet.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 09/12/16**

 **Last Updated: 01/20/17**


	4. Chapter 4 - This Life's Never Uneventful

**Chapter 4 – This Life's Never Uneventful**

"So, are you the good cop?"

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto pointed at himself. "Me a cop? Oh, no. Technically, I'm not even an Overwatch agent. You may call me an… associate. Between you and me, I don't think I'm even allowed to be here. I was just curious to see who managed to snatch Gabriel's interest. I'm Naruto, by the way."

As he leaned his shoulder against the bars, Naruto studied the boy lying on the bench inside the jail cell in front of him. Usually, everyone was a boy compared to Naruto, but this time he meant it literally. He was just a nineteen years old kid, around 5'11" with a lean body. His neck length shaggy brown hair was parted down the middle and his brown eyes were currently closed. The small patches of facial hair under his bottom lip and along his jawline showed that he was trying to grow a beard, probably wanting to look older, but he was still far too young to do so. Maybe in a couple of years he would actually have a real beard.

His clothes were nothing special to look at. The usual grey jumpsuit every prisoner received when arrested by Overwatch. Several men and women were wearing those same types of clothes right now. After all, a group of operatives of the Deadlock Gang were apprehended during the latest Overwatch sting operation and Jesse McCree, the boy in front of him, was only one of its members.

Unable to hold his curiosity, Jesse blurted, "Gabriel?"

"Probably you know him as the bad cop who was here before me. You know, edgy guy with a passion for the colour black and a frown constantly on his face," Naruto explained as he waved his hand toward the door, "By the way, I apologise for his behaviour. Gabbi's not very good at expressing his feelings. All of us are trying to help him but he's still a work in progress. I can assure you that once you get to know him better, he's just a big fluffy teddy bear inside. Very deep inside."

Jesse wasn't sure if this guy was serious or simply teasing him. Gabbi? Jesse knew who Naruto was referring to. The most terrifying man he had ever met – that was Gabbi for Jesse. The very thought of the Blackwatch Commander made shivers run down his spine. And this guy was calling him Gabbi? Rising to a sitting position, Jesse leaned back against the wall and looked more carefully at the blond outside his cell.

Honestly, he didn't look like much to him. At first, Jesse believed him to be another member of Blackwatch seeing the dark grey trench coat, black jeans and black combat boots he was wearing. However, he changed his mind once he saw the bright orange and white striped shirt. Jesse had no idea how someone could wear something so… eye catchy. Despite his tall stature, probably around 6'4", and athletic build, Naruto wasn't intimidating in the least. His slouching posture, bright blond spiky hair and goofy grin were in sharp contrast with the menacing and dark figure of Gabriel Reyes.

All in all, Jesse concluded that this Naruto was probably a nobody. Maybe he just wanted to see a member of the infamous Deadlock Gang up close. Closing his eyes, Jesse exhaled deeply, "Well, you saw me so you can go now."

The jailbird didn't need to open his eyes to know that the blond was pouting, he could easily hear it in the tone of his voice. "There's no need to be so rude, Jesse. Usually people tend to enjoy my company. Maybe you just didn't have enough time to appreciate my awesomeness. Yes, that must be it," muttering to himself, Naruto nodded his head, "Besides, I don't know why you're so grumpy. You're not in a terrible situation. From what I heard, you've been offered a very good deal."

"Offered. Right," Jesse scoffed as he rolled his eyes, "More like threatened. Either I join this Blackwatch or I spend the rest of my life in a maximum-security prison. That's not much of a choice." Jesse knew that the deal wasn't that bad. However, he spent most of his life running away from the law and now they told him that he was supposed to work for it. It wasn't that easy for him to accept.

Naruto stared at him for a moment, his grin dimming slightly. Clearing his throat, he pulled out a piece of paper out of his trench coat and began to read it, "Gang shootout: 7 dead and 13 injured. Armed bank robbery: 3 dead and 5 injured. Murd-"

Groaning, Jesse sent a glared at Naruto, "Why are you saying me this? To make me even more depressed than I already am?"

"This is a list of all the civilian casualties caused by the weapons your gang sold on the black market," Naruto informed him in an even voice and Jesse clenched his jaw, "Even these people didn't have a choice, just like you. The difference is that, unlike you, they didn't choose this type of life. They simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Jesse diverted his eyes, focusing on his cuffed wrists. "I can't control what people do with guns. I'm not responsible for what every idiot does on this planet." His defence was weak and even Jesse know it.

"Jesse, Jesse," Naruto shook his head as he chastised him with a condescending tone, "You may be young but you're not that naïve. Don't insult both my and your intelligence by saying that. You knew very well the consequences of your actions. You simply decided to ignore them, all because you could make some easy money out of it."

Blowing a puff of exasperation through his lips, Jesse stood up and moved toward the bars of the cell, "Fine. I admit it, I'm guilty as charged. I knew what was going to happen and I did it anyway. If it wasn't because of me, someone else would have done it. It's not like the Deadlock Gang is the only one responsible for arms trafficking in the entire world. Are you happy now? What are you going to say to me next? That if I work for Blackwatch I'll atone my sins? I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I've already heard that speech and it didn't work."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. That was not going as planned. "I'm not trying to guilt-trip you into accepting the offer. That's really not my intention, Jesse. I don't care if you join Blackwatch or not, I simply want to show you the bigger picture. You don't have to do it as a sort of penitence, just think about what's best for you," Naruto smiled sadly at him, "You're so young, Jesse. You have all your future ahead of you and you're going to throw it away because you don't want to work for the cops. That's just stupid and you are not stupid."

Jesse stared into the blond's eyes, trying to understand what was he planning. One thing he learned during his life was that everyone had an ulterior motive, always. However, no matter how much he tried, Jesse couldn't understand the reason behind Naruto's behaviour. "What makes you think I deserve a second chance?"

"Everybody deserves a second chance, Jesse. Trust me, I forgave people who did much worse things than you. You're not even in the top 10," Naruto said waggling his finger at him, "Sometimes it's better to not overthink things. Just because life is unfair, it doesn't mean something good can't happen. You have to be smart and know when seize those opportunities because most of the times life won't give you a choice but simply make it for you."

Letting out a sigh, Naruto stood up and moved toward the door, "You've got a second chance. Think very carefully about it and don't waste it. There's not probably going to be a third. I hope you'll make the choice that is right for you, Jesse."

With nothing more to say, Naruto exited the room. Now he understood perfectly why Gabriel was so interested in Jesse. He looked like a good kid who just needed a push in the right direction. His gut was telling him so and Naruto always trusted his instincts. He was quite curious to see how Gabriel would train him. The super soldier wasn't the most patient man and he seemed to have already made quite the first impression on Jesse.

Speaking of the devil, Gabriel was waiting him outside the door with his arms crossed on his chest, narrowed eyes and lowered brows. His foot was nervously tapping on the floor. "So, what do you think about the kid?"

Naruto smiled nostalgically. Gabrielle asked him the exact same question about the man who was in front of him right now. He was quite surprised that Gabriel actually wanted to know his opinion. Naruto knew that he respected him, however, the Blackwatch Commander usually preferred to do everything by himself. Probably he just wanted to be sure about his decision. There was always a risk in making deals with criminals and Jesse would be the first recruit Gabriel personally handpicked.

Patting his student on his shoulder in a reassuring manner, Naruto smiled at him and gave him the exact same answer he gave years ago before resuming his walk.

"He has potential."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Taking a deep breath, Jesse focused on the paper targets scattered around the empty room in front of him. His focus was absolute. There was just him, the targets and his gun. Nothing else mattered. With a quick flick of his wrist, the cowboy drew his trusty six-shooter and quickly pulled the trigger. Not a single shot was wasted. Each target had a bullet hole right in the centre. Smirking in self-satisfaction, Jesse put down the gun and turned toward his instructor.

"I really appreciate the help ma'am. I admit I wasn't really sure about this shooting lessons but I can't complain about the results. The boss told me you're the best sniper of Overwatch and I must say those stories were not exaggerated."

The empty shooting range was filled with the sound of a melodious laughter. "Gabriel told you that? I guess it must have been really hard for him to admit that I'm better than him at something. Don't worry. I won't tell him you told me that. It'll be our little secret," Ana assured him, winking conspirationally.

Jesse exhaled in relief and tipped his hat off to her, "Much obliged ma'am."

"I heard you had your first mission last week. How was it?" Ana asked as the two Overwatch agents began to put away their guns.

"Weird," Jesse admitted scratching his head under his hat, "I've been a member of Blackwatch for six months now, but only when I found myself out on the field I fully felt like one. It took me a second to realise I wasn't supposed to break the law but enforce it."

"Any regrets joining us?"

Jesse chuckled at the question, "Not to be disrespectful ma'am, but I think there's only one answer acceptable for that type of question. Especially if the second-in-command of Overwatch is the one asking me."

Rolling her eyes, Ana gently swatted him on his arm, "I don't care what answer may be acceptable or not. I promise you that whatever you may say won't change how you're treated. You're free to have your own opinion, Jesse. I just want to know how you feel."

The former convict took off his cowboy hat and examined it. When he decided to join Blackwatch, Jesse was prepared to say goodbye to his beloved hat and wear that hideous, dull black uniform. A smile tugged at his lips, remembering when Gabriel told him he could keep it.

" _I choose you for your marksmanship not your fashion sense. I couldn't care less of what you're wearing. Even if it's that ridiculous cowboy hat. If you do as I say, no one will see you while you're on a mission because you're not supposed to be seen. Now get back to work, you relaxed long enough."_

Naruto was right. A big fluffy teddy bear once you get to know him. "I like it," Jesse responded to Ana as he put his hat back on, "Blackwatch has far more freedom that I imagined. No bureaucracy or red tape to hinder us. That was one of the things I was more afraid of. And…" clearing his throat, Jesse glanced shyly at her, "I had no idea that making a difference – a good difference – for someone could be so… rewarding."

Ana smiled warmly at him and nodded, "Good. I'm happy to hear that."

Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of an another younger Amari who barged into the shooting range. "That was incredible! He looked at the targets for just a couple of seconds and he managed to hit them all one after the other!" Fareeha turned toward Jesse, a look of childish awe came into her brown eyes. "Now I get it why you managed to join Overwatch. You're really good. Can I see your weapon? Pretty please?"

Closing and opening his mouth several time, Jesse looked at Ana for help. The older Amari could only nod slightly in resignation. When her daughter wanted something there was nothing that could possibly stop her. Discretely removing the bullets from the hammer, Jesse handed her his Peacekeeper. "Sure… here you go."

Both Overwatch agents watched with amused smiles the scene in front of them. Fareeha was carefully examining the gun in her hands, taking in every single detail. Usually fourteen years old girls weren't supposed to be so overjoyed about a lethal weapon, but the Amaris weren't what you could call a conventional family. Interrupting them once more was the flashy entrance of another person. Literally flashy, as Naruto flashed into existence right behind Fareeha.

"Oh good, you're all here. That makes thing easier. Jack told me he had an important announce to make and he wants everybody present in the common room," crossing his arms, Naruto huffed in frustration, "Can you believe it? Jack is turning me into his personal lackey just because I can teleport around. One of my greatest technique compared to a simple text message. Why can no one appreciate my awesomeness?!"

His gloomy mood disappeared as he pointed at the gun in Fareeha's hands. "Why is Fareeha holding Jesse's Peacekeeper?"

"Oh, mum was teaching Jesse and they let me watch. Since they're done now I asked him if I could see his gun," Fareeha said as she gave the weapon back to Jesse before turning toward Naruto, "You should have seen him. He was so cool."

Naruto's words stopped dead in his throat. Turning his head toward Jesse, Naruto stared at him, narrowing his eyes, as he repeated in a strained voice, "Cool?"

Fareeha raised an eyebrow at Naruto's strange mood swing. "Well… yeah. He's so young and he's already part of Overwatch. That means he must be really good to be here, right?" In the background, Ana rubbed her temples already knowing what Naruto was about to do.

Naruto hummed in response, as he slowly exhaled and inhaled through his nose. His eyes still fixed on the Blackwatch agent. "You're right, Jesse is so cool. You know what, I think you and your mother should start going. The _cool_ kid and I need to have a nice long chat."

Rolling her eyes, Ana gently pushed the fuming Naruto toward the exit, "We don't have time for this. Isn't Jack waiting for us? I'm sure that you can have your chat with Jesse later… when more witnesses are around." The blond only grunted in response as all four of them left the shooting range. Jesse cautiously lagged a few steps behind the group, just for precaution. The intensity of Naruto's stare was unnerving him.

When they reached the common room where the others agents were waiting for Jack's arrival, Jesse immediately excused himself and moved as far away as possible from Naruto. The teenager had no idea what he did to make Naruto angry, but he definitely didn't want to stay there to find out. During these past six months, Jesse learned a lot about Naruto. Especially what he was capable of. His trusty Peacekeeper was not enough for that duel. Hell, probably the entire Blackwatch division was not enough for it.

Naruto, in the meantime, smiled smugly at Jesse's retreating form. Yeah, he'd better run. Who did he think he was? Acting all cool in front of his little desert princess, showing off his gun and shooting skills. Fareeha was far too young to have any type of interactions with male teenagers. They all had to stay at least five feet away from her at any given time. If they didn't, well, Naruto was more than happy to remind them that.

Having enough of his caveman behaviour, Ana swatted Naruto on the head. "Ouch! What was that for?! And where is Fareeha?" Looking around Naruto realised only Ana was still next to him.

"She's not with Jesse, if that's what you were worried about. Torbjörn modified Reinhardt's hammer and she was curious about it," Ana informed him as she pointed toward a corner of the room where the Swedish engineer was showing Reinhardt's hammer to a thrilled Fareeha. "Naruto, you can't terrify every boy in Fareeha's life. I appreciate it but it's really not necessary."

Naruto awkwardly cleared his throat, "Terrify is such a strong word. I simply wanted to talk to the kid."

Humming noncommitaly, Ana raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Sure, you simply wanted to talk. That's why you were grinding your teeth, because you were so eager to have a nice polite chat with him. In case you didn't notice, I had to physically drag you all the way from the shooting range since you were so busy glaring at him," at his sheepish grin, she continued, "Besides, I like Jesse. He's a good kid."

"You can't be serious. He's a criminal!" The very idea sounded outrageous to his ears. Almost as saying that ramen was not the best food in the world. Simply ridiculous. Naruto liked Jesse, but they were talking about Fareeha right now. No boy was good enough for her, at least if Naruto had something to say about it.

Ana simply smiled at him, "Weren't you the one who told me that he was a good kid that deserved a second chance? To not judge him for his past? Well, that's what I'm doing. Does this mean that Naruto Uzumaki is going back on his word?" Ana declared in a tone of mock surprise.

"Oh look, Jack's here!" Pointing at the Strike-Commander who has just entered the room, Naruto mentally thanked every deity out there for his fellow blond's arrival. His timing was just perfect. "We should listen to what he has to say. It's probably something really important."

Ana snorted as she turned toward Jack. The conversation was far from over and she would talk with the shinobi later. Now, she was more intrigued by what Jack had to say than trying to convince Naruto that Fareeha could stay in the proximity of a teenager of the opposite gender. Looking around the room, she noticed that neither Torbjörn nor Reinhardt seemed to know what was going on and her daughter was, obviously, still engrossed on the modified hammer. And Naruto was worried about boys. First, she needed to look at something else beside a weapon to notice the boys around her. She really needed to find her another hobby.

A much calmer Jesse was now standing next to Gabriel as they quietly talked with each other. Probably discussing something related to Blackwatch. Ana was happy that the two of them formed a good teacher-student relationship. Jesse needed someone to look up to after being a part of a criminal gang for, basically, all of his life. Gabriel, on the other hand, surprisingly enjoyed having a sort of apprentice to whom teach every aspect of his job. He loved his profession and, if you asked him, his way of working was the only acceptable way. Ana was grateful that Gabriel didn't turn Jesse into a copy of himself. He was one of his best friend, but one Gabriel Reyes was more than enough.

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought her out of her thoughts. The blond Overwatch Commander looked quite giddy, almost twitching with excitement, as he waited for everyone to focus on him. Just like a child at Christmas Eve. Ana saw him nodding discretely in Gabriel's direction receiving a nod in response. That was interesting. Apparently, both of the Commanders were involved.

"Thank you for all being here. I have an important announcement to make and I'll try to be brief," Jack started once everyone looked at him, "You've all probably heard about the incident on the Horizon Lunar Colony. How the team of scientists on the Moon's colony was killed by a group of gorillas which were intended to be used as test subjects. Fortunately, not everything was lost. A… scientist managed to build a makeshift rocket and escape to Earth. After hearing about Overwatch's ideals and believes, he decided on his own volition to join us and we were all more than happy to welcome him."

His tone suddenly became more stern. "He wasn't involved in any shape or form in the tragedy that happened there. I want all of you to treat him fairly. He's a member of this family now and he'll be treated like one," once every agent present nodded at his words Jack turned toward the door, "You can come in now."

When the door opened everyone realised why Jack was so adamant that the new member had to be treated equally. He was a gorilla. And that wasn't a euphemism for his physical appearance. He was an actual gorilla. A gorilla who was wearing a rather nifty white space suit and a pair of glasses.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Winston."

And apparently talked too. No one was expecting that. Everyone in the room just stared at the poor Winston with pretty much the same gawking expression. They weren't scared of him. While it was true that he was one of the gorilla used as test subjects on the colony, each agent knew this particular gorilla wasn't a threat. Jack told them that Winston was now a member of Overwatch and that was all they needed to know that they could trust him. Still, even if they weren't afraid they were all legitimately shocked by what was in front of them. Well, almost everyone was.

"Nice to meet you, Winston," Naruto offered his bandaged hand in greeting with his usual smile on his face, "Welcome to Overwatch. I'm looking forward to see what you're capable of. Name's Naruto Uzumaki. If you have any question about Overwatch then I'm not the guy you should ask to. However, if you want to know where to get the best ramen and/or how to prank someone, then you've come to the right guy."

Both confused and fascinated by the eccentric introduction, Winston shacked the blond's hand in response. Naruto didn't seem shocked at all by Winston's presence and the scientist found his dismissal quite interesting. Winston knew that he was an anomaly – super-intelligent, genetically engineered gorillas were quite rare after all. So, he wasn't surprised by the reaction almost everyone had at his introduction. Naruto, on the other hand, honestly didn't seem to care if he was a human, a gorilla or an elephant wearing a pink tutu. He simply was happy to meet someone new.

Winston liked him already.

Gabriel approached a flabbergasted Jack and he offered him his hand with the palm facing upward. "Pay up. Told you he wouldn't freak out."

"Am I missing something?" Naruto wondered aloud, seeing how everyone was now staring at him.

Jack almost teared his hair out over the casual way Naruto posed the question. "How can you be so calm?! A monkey is talking to you and you're first reaction is to simply introduce yourself? Who does that?!"

"First of all Jack, he's not a monkey but a gorilla. You even told us that. Have you forgotten already?" puffing his chest, Naruto continued, "Second, I have manners. Introducing yourself to someone you've just met is called common courtesy. I'd be more than happy to teach you if you want to. Lastly, what makes you think he is the first talking animal I've ever met? Seriously, you know me very well. Is it really that surprising?"

When he put it that way, it sounded almost logical. They should have probably expected something like that. Naruto was able to control the elements, teleport and create physical conscious clones of himself, just to say a few. Talking animals was just another odd thing to add to the list. While everyone who knew the blond simply accepted the explanation, the newest member of Overwatch was a little baffled by what Naruto was saying.

"You've already met talking animals?" Winston asked him curiously. He always thought he was an exception. He had no idea there were other genetically enchanted animals on Earth.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he grinned sheepishly, "Well, technically they were animals but the presence of chakra in their bodies changed them. I don't think they could be compared with the animals of this world. Different dimension, different rules. Speaking of my dimension, you grew up on the moon right? Which means you spent a lot of time there. Can I ask you something?"

Blinking at the sudden change of topic, Winston nodded his head hesitantly. He had absolutely no idea of what Naruto was going to ask him. His brilliant mind was completely useless in this situation. Dimensions? Chakra? What was he talking about?

Naruto leaned in and whispered conspirationally, "Have you ever found something… weird up there? Like, I don't know, an abandoned village, an artificial ecosystem or, for example, the husk of a primordial god buried in the moon's core? Anything like that?"

"Nothing of the sorts. Just a barren satellite with dust and rocks," Winston cleared his throat as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "I'm pretty sure I would remember something like you what described."

Exhaling in relief, Naruto patted him on the back, "That's good. I'm not really in the mood to fight against an overpowered alien who wants to control the planet… again. You've taken a weight off my shoulders. Thanks buddy."

"You're welcome" Winston found himself replying out of habit. That was probably the weirdest conversation he had ever had. The scientist in him wanted to ask Naruto all the questions that were running through his mind. What was chakra? What did he mean with different dimension? Why should the moon have the body of a primordial god inside? Unfortunately, now he had not the time to do so.

"You'll get used to it eventually. In the beginning, it's better if you talk to him in small doses. Naruto can be quite overwhelming the first time you meet him. After a while, you'll just give up on trying to understand him and simply accept whatever he says. Trust me, it's better this way," Ana said to Winston as he approached the duo with a warm smile on her face, "I'm Ana Amari. Second-in-command of Overwatch. Happy to have you here. The girl currently hiding behind me is my daughter Fareeha." The fourteen years old squealed as she shyly waved behind her mother. She was a curious child, but even she was shocked by a giant talking gorilla.

Once Ana introduced herself, each and every agent present did the same with some of them doing it in a more… eccentric way. Torbjörn, intrigued by his armour, simply decided to jump on Winston's back to study it. Reinhardt was eager to challenge him to an arm wrestling match and Jesse was just happy to not be the newbie anymore as he welcomed him with open arms. In the end, everyone was around Winston, talking and chatting amicably as they got to know him better.

Jack was incredibly relieved that everything worked out fine. He wasn't sure if the others were so ready to accept a scientist gorilla as a comrade. Especially when gorillas just like him were the ones responsible for the tragedy on the Horizon Lunar Colony. Fortunately, he had nothing to worry about. Everyone seemed very accepting of the new addiction and his word was enough to convince them that he was not a threat. Jack made sure that he wasn't. Only after several weeks spent in observation, Winston was allowed to join Overwatch.

Jack wanted to see the best in everyone and he really liked the gorilla scientist, but the safety of his comrades was still his number one priority.

Turning toward Naruto, who was now watching the group from the outside just like him, he tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "It was nice of you to do that," at his questioning look, Jack clarified, "The conversation about the moon you had with Winston. It helped to break the ice and, strangely enough, you put him at ease with your weirdness."

"Oh, that. You thought I wasn't serious?" Naruto questioned him as he tilted his head, "I wasn't joking. If I have to fight against another army of weird plant zombies, I'd like to know it in advance. It was a real pain the first time. And don't even get me started on that stupid Rabbit Goddess. Turning the entire population of a planet into your personal army to fight against your weird alien relatives who want to destroy your world. She was crazy, I can tell you that. And to think she was actually a very distant relative of mine."

Jack didn't even know why he thought Naruto was not serious. Of course Naruto was serious, only he could say something like that with a straight face. And he thought that being the first Strike-Commander of Overwatch was something new and exciting, but Naruto just had to raise the bar. You couldn't compare your life with Naruto's. It wasn't fair.

Raising a mocking eyebrow at Jack, Gabriel snorted as he crossed his hands on his chest, "And you thought that a talking gorilla was going to scare him. Nice one Jack."

"No one asked for your opinion Gabriel" Jack rebutted as he stared at his oldest friend.

Winston, noticing the two arguing Commanders, leaned toward Ana. She seemed the most balanced person present in the room. "Are they always behaving like this?" he asked as he nodded his head toward the two super soldiers.

Letting out a sigh, Ana patted him on the back, "Welcome to Overwatch."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author Note:** Just a quick note. Winston in this chapter his 11 years old. I know that he's quite young but I have a valid reason why I introduced him so early. First of all, he's not a human being but a gorilla. An 11 years old gorilla is different from a 11 years old human. Second, I've always seen Winston as a sort of unofficial founder of Overwatch. It was Winston, after all, the one who initiated the recall in the story. I want him to be an important part of Overwatch, so I decided to introduce him earlier to develop better his role as a sort of fundamental member of Overwatch.

If you're wondering how the characters are physically looking in this moment of the story, since I'm really bad at describing people, you should watch the video "Ana Origin Story". Around 40 seconds into the video there's a picture with the five founders, chibi Fareeha, McCree, Mercy and two unknown characters smiling at the camera. That's how they look.

I sort of have a planned timeline with all the canonical events that I'm following but it's just a guideline. Everything can change if my story so requires. That's the beauty of writing a fanfiction about Overwatch. You don't have a rigid canon to follow.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 09/18/16**

 **Last Updated: 10/19/16**


	5. Chapter 5 - Did Someone Call a Doctor?

**Chapter 5 – Did Someone Call a Doctor?**

Naruto looked once more at the picture that was on top of the folder he had just finished reading. It was a photo of a woman in her early twenties. Her long blonde hair, a lighter shade of Naruto's own, was pulled back into a high ponytail, leaving a couple of bangs to fall on the right side of her face slightly covering her eye. She had basically no make-up on, her perfectly trimmed eyebrows the only touch of vanity she allowed herself. Her fair skin and dainty nose perfectly complemented her blue eyes and flushed lips, giving her a natural beauty – warm but unapproachable at the same time. Almost as if she was too perfect to be true.

If Naruto had to use only one word to describe her, he would say she looked angelic.

He had no idea just how appropriate that particular adjective was.

Glancing to his right, Naruto saw Winston nervously fidgeting on the spot as he waited to hear what Naruto had to say. His weight constantly shifting from one side to the other. Jack, on the other hand, looked far calmer than the primate scientist as he coolly sat on the chair behind his desk while he also waited to hear Naruto's opinion. Dropping the folder on Jack's desk, Naruto turned toward Winston and gave him a knowing smile as he wiggled his eyebrows, "You want your crush to join Overwatch, eh? I have to say that I'm quite surprised. I was expecting a request like this coming from Jesse not from you Winston. I never thought you had it in you. You sly gorilla, you."

"I don't have a crush on her," Winston grumbled uncomfortably as he adjusted his glasses, "I admire her work and respect her as a fellow scientist. Her research on the field of nanobiology is nothing short of revolutionary – critical wounds and injuries treated in a matter of minutes. I think she would make a fine addiction to our organisation. That's why I told the Commander if we could contact her and offer her to join us."

Nodding his head, Naruto hummed in understating, "So, she's your nerd crush then."

"It's not just Winston who wants her," at Naruto sly grin, Jack realised what his fellow blonde was thinking he was implying with his words and immediately tried to rectify it, "I mean I want her to join Overwatch, you old pervert! You've read her file. I'm old enough to be her father!"

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders in response, "That doesn't really matter to me. If I followed that type of mentality I would never get laid. After all, I'm old enough to be everyone's great-great-great-grandfather. I was only thinking about you, Jack. Being the Strike-Commander is a stressful job and you need some kind of outlet. Try to shoot with your other gun once in a while. I know a couple of ladies who would be more than happy to help the great Jack Morrison to relieve his stress if you wanted to."

Personally, Naruto was quite proud with himself that he didn't turned out to be a pervert. Especially considering who exactly were his role models/teachers during his forming years. Hokage-jiji, Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin were amazing shinobi he loved and respected with all his heart, but that didn't change the fact that they were all a bunch of perverts. Even if Naruto didn't inherit their "pervertness", much to their dismay, he still liked to tease Jack whenever he had the chance to do so. While Gabriel simply raised an eyebrow or snorted in response, his other student was far easier to fluster and had much more amusing reactions.

"I don't need the help from any of your lady friends and that's not why I've called you!" Jack stuttered trying hard to maintain his composure, "I wanted to know your professional opinion of her. One of the lessons you taught me was that as a leader the wellbeing of the soldiers under your command should always be your number one priority. A mission completed at the cost of even just one life should be seen as a failed mission. Having a competent doctor working with us will help us greatly to reduce the number of deaths on the field."

Naruto taught Jack and Gabriel almost everything he had learned during his time as Hokage. He knew that one of the two super soldier would become the leader of the task force – Gabrielle basically confirmed that to him – and he wanted both of them to be ready for the job. Tsunade was the one who integrated the policy to have at least one medical-nin per team during her reign as the Godaime Hokage and Naruto followed his predecessor example, teaching the same to his two students.

Even with the new-found peace amongst the shinobi village at the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, missing-nin, rōnin and mercenaries group were still roaming around the land. Shinobi could still die on missions and, since his own children decided to be shinobi just like their parents, Naruto did his best to keep them safe. That's why he forced every ninja above the rank of genin to know at least the basic of medical ninjutsu. He may haven't been able to always be there for his children, busy with his work as Hokage, but he never once forgot about their safety. And, of course, the safety of every other shinobi under his command, his children were just a higher priority.

"The file you gave me simply stated her accomplishments in the medical field. I have no idea what type of person she is but if you want a competent medic then she's the right choice," raising an eyebrow, Naruto looked at Jack, "Now, could you please tell me the real reason why we're in your office, Jack? I don't think you called me just to hear my opinion on the matter. Especially since you already knew I would agree with you."

Jack gulped as he adjusted himself on his seat, "Well, there's just a little problem. She's a pacifist."

"Last time I checked Overwatch was an international task force created with the purpose to maintain peace. What's the problem with her being a pacifist?" Naruto wondered confused. He was expecting an obstacle a little bit more complicated to overcome especially since Jack was the one who called him. The soldier from Indiana was not so easily deterred.

A deep, rumbling voice clarified the situation as the scientist standing next to him decided to answer the question, "She's a pacifist who's against any type of organisation that uses a militaristic approach to maintain peace and, unfortunately, Overwatch is under that category. She was adamant in her refusal to join the task force, no matter what the Commander offered to her."

Letting out a sigh, Naruto passed a hand through his hair, "I can see how that could be a problem. But I still don't get what you want me to do about it. It's not like I can magically change her mind," at Jack's guilty expression, Naruto groaned as he put his palm on his face, "Of course you want me to change her mind. Weren't you the one who told me that he didn't need my help anymore? Are you sure that asking for my intervention is the best choice in this scenario?"

"Commander Morrison is a great man and someone I'm proud to call my leader. However, he is first and foremost a soldier. His type of mentality is simply too different from hers to find a common ground. On the other hand, even if you share his same militaristic mind set, you are also a highly emphatic person. With just a couple of words, you're able to create a connection with almost everyone around you and understand their feelings and believes," Winston explained as he looked at the shinobi with a glint of admiration in his eyes.

Nodding his head, Jack continued from where the scientist left off, "That's why I think you're the best person for this job. I'm not asking you to force her to join us, but just to talk to her and show her why she is so important for us. You also taught me that a good leader knows when to ask for help and that's why I'm asking you this right now. I don't want to rely on you but I'm willing to if I know it's the best choice to make. Especially when the wellbeing of my soldiers is at stake. So, are you going to do it?"

Naruto fought the urge to roll his eyes seeing the two Overwatch members waiting for his response with a look of trepidation over their faces. Did they forget who were they talking to? Did they actually believe he was going to refuse? While Naruto still firmly believed that he shouldn't be the solution for every problem, if he received a valid reason, he would happily lend a hand. He wasn't so heartless to just leave them be simply to teach them a lesson.

Jack brought up a valid argument and, even more surprisingly, swallowed his pride to ask for help. While Jack wasn't as prideful as Gabriel, his blond student has always been eager to impress his teacher and show him what he was capable of. Jack nursed a profound respect for Naruto, both as a soldier and not, so it must have been extremely difficult for him to ask for his help.

Rising from his chair, Naruto put on his trench coat and straightened it, brushing away the wrinkles formed while it was resting on the back of his chair. He took the picture of the problematic doctor with his bandaged hand and stared at it long and hard. Each one of his movements slow and meticulous. Naruto, obviously, wasn't doing it on purpose. He simply deeply cared about his trench coat and wanted to see one last time the picture of the doctor. He wasn't deliberately trying to increase the suspense just for giggles.

That would be so immature of him.

"So…" Naruto started as he looked up at the two other people in the office, showing them the picture, "Can someone please tell me where can I find this Doctor Ziegler?"

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Dr Ziegler's office was exactly how Naruto imagined it. The walls were painted a plain cream colour with not a single painting on them. Just academic certificates, a lot of academic certificates. One of the walls was occupied by a single enormous bookcase filled with probably every single medical book ever published in human's history. Next to it there was a single white plain door which probably brought to a closet. The window facing the west side of the building was currently closed to prevent the cold winter air of Zürich from creeping in. However, the curtains were not, allowing you to enjoy a panoramic view over the city from the office.

The only furniture present was a modern glass desk, with a white ergonomic chair behind it and two equally white armchairs in front of it. One of them was currently occupied by our favourite blond, who was staring intently at an ornament on the desk in front of him – a Newton's cradle. Naruto found out that this particular decoration, consisting of a series of metal balls suspended in a metal frame, was almost always present in every office of this world.

Gabrielle, Jack and Gabriel all had one and, at first, Naruto didn't realise what was the appeal of this simple object. He learned to appreciate it later, but – just as everything else revolving around the immortal shinobi – he did it in a slightly unusual manner. And that was what Naruto was doing right now as he used his Magnet Release to manipulate the magnetic forces around the metal balls to move them as he liked. Probably it was a waste of chakra and Shukaku – that crazy tanuki – would yell at him if he knew what he was doing with his chakra, but to Naruto it was all worth it. There was nothing better than blowing a raspberry to one of the greatest figure of the Scientific revolution.

Take that Newton! The great Uzumaki Naruto is above your stupid universal laws.

Unfortunately, his fun was about to end since he could hear that the doctress was about to arrive. After all, he wanted to make a good first impression and introduce yourself while metal balls are floating around you wasn't what he had in mind. He wasn't an omnic monk from Shambali, unfortunately, and Ana told him that those types of behaviour where not usually accepted by the society. She was such a spoilsport sometimes.

Not even a minute after Naruto stopped playing around, Doctor Angela Ziegler entered the office. As she moved toward the chair behind her desk she acknowledged Naruto's presence with a small but warm smile. Stripping off her lab coat, showing a simple white blouse and grey pencil skirt underneath it, she folded it neatly over the back of her chair before graciously sitting on it. "You must be Mr. Uzumaki. I have to say I'm quite curious to hear what else Overwatch is going to say to convince me to join them. I thought that I made my decision clear when I talked with the Commander last time. I wasn't expecting to hear more from you."

"Well, my cute little kōhai was so downtrodden by your constant refusal to join him that he asked me for this favour. I couldn't say no to him. He honestly looked like a kicked puppy. And please, Mr. Uzumaki makes me feel old. Just Naruto it's fine" Naruto explained as he scratched the back of his head.

"Kōhai?" Angela asked, not knowing the meaning of the Japanese word.

"My student, the Strike-Commander of Overwatch Jack Morrison." The doctor only raised an eyebrow at the statement and Naruto had to admit that he was quite impressed by her self-control. Usually people were a little bit more shocked when they heard that he, a guy who looked in his twenties, was the teacher of Jack Morrison, a war veteran in his early forties. Right now she was either dismissing his statement, unlikely since she knew his connection to Overwatch was real and it would be completely useless for him to lie in this situation, or storing this piece of information for future use.

Considering how her eyes were studying him intently, Naruto thought it was most likely the latter. Scientists were all the same, she was behaving just like Winston. She was just more discreet while doing it.

"So, Mr. Uzumaki," Angela started as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. In front of her, Naruto resisted the urge to pout at how she addressed him. "What is this favour the Commander Morrison asked you?"

Following her example, Naruto leaned back in the armchair. "Simply to talk with you and get to know you a little better."

"That's it?" Truthfully, Angela was a little surprised by the simple answer.

"For now, yes. What? Is that surprising that someone from Overwatch wants to have a simple chat?" Naruto asked slightly amused, a smile playing on his lips, "You made it sounds like we are a bunch of brute that can't hold a simple conversation. I hope Jack didn't give you that impression. If so, please do tell me. I don't mind having a reason to make him run twenty laps around the headquarters. I'm sure the recruits would love to see it."

Shaking her head, Angela held a hand over her mouth hiding her giggles, "I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. I was simply thinking of my previous interactions with Commander Morrison. We talked, of course, but he was a little bit… forceful whenever he tried to make his point. At the end we've always reached an impasse, never finding a compromise. I admit that he wasn't the only one to blame," letting out a sigh, Angela smiled apologetically, "I think we're both too stubborn for our own good. While I do understand his point of view, I simply can't agree with it."

Humming, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. For now, it was just like Jack and Winston explained to him. "And on what exactly you disagree?"

"Didn't they tell you?"

"Of course they told me," Naruto confessed as he nodded his head, "But I'd prefer to hear it from you. After all, I'm here to talk to you. Our conversation would be rather dull if I didn't ask you anything and simply make my assumption from what other people told me. Don't you think?"

"Very well," straightening her back, Angela fixed her eyes him as she began to talk, "I don't believe that more weapons are what the world needs to create a peaceful future. Several people apparently forgot what caused the last global war. At first, omnics where created to help us in factories or in daily chores. Only later, when we turned them into soldiers, the problem began."

"Do you dislike the omnic?"

"No, I'm not so narrow minded to hate a machine that simply did what was programmed to do. The majority, if not all, of the omnics were basically brainwashed by one of those god programs. I can't really blame them for something outside of their control," as she continued, her voice gained a stern edge, "However, I do blame the people who thought that having factories autonomously producing sentient weapons was a good idea. When Omnica Corporation was shut down for fraud over twenty years ago and the factories were dismantled, the various governments should have destroyed the pieces. Instead they kept some parts for themselves because their military potential was just too much to simply ignore it. Not even ten years later troops of omnics marched outside those same factories with the intention to destroy mankind."

Letting out a sigh, her shoulders slumped slightly, "I think we should learn from the mistakes made in the past to not repeat them in the future. A military force – Overwatch – is not what the world needs."

Naruto stared at her for a long moment, his brain replaying her words over and over again. He wasn't surprised that she had an elaborate and logical reason behind her refusal to join Overwatch. Just like Jack was a soldier, she was a scientist. On her job, she collected data and analysed it before forming a conclusion. There was no apparent reason why she couldn't use the same approach outside of work. While Naruto had nothing against this type of thought process, he believed that Angela was missing one important fact.

"I think I understand the situation now. Jack did the right thing by calling me. Well, I have only one thing to say to you miss," standing up, Naruto puffed his chest and smirked cockily at her as he raised a single finger in the air, "Challenge accepted!"

Angela could only blink, utterly confused by the sudden exclamation, "Mr. Uzumaki, I wasn't trying to challenge you…"

Smiling broadly, Naruto backed toward the door, still talking, "You see, my dear Angela, you could say that changing people believes is a sort of hobby of mine. With this I don't mean that I force people to agree with my point of view, but I simply make them see what they didn't notice before. Two nights from now I'll be waiting on the rooftop of this hospital. If you want to have your eyes opened, you can find me there."

Angela crossed her arms over her chest as she stood up. "While we did have a nice conversation, even if I was the one to do most of the talking, I'm afraid that's not enough to earn my trust. Why should I believe you?"

"Because you're a woman of science." If possible, his smile broadened even more. "You're a naturally curious person who doesn't like being left in the dark. Either way, you're free to do as you please. I promise that I'll completely understand if you decide to not come. See you in a couple of days. Hopefully." With that said, Naruto opened the door behind him and swiftly exited the room.

Angela let out a sigh as she shook her head, "Mr. Uzumaki that's the wrong door. You are walking into a closet." Not hearing a response, she moved toward the door to open it. "Mr. Uzumaki the exit is… that… way," Angela trailed off as she saw the empty closet in front of her. Looking over her shoulder she made sure that she was the only person in the office before turning her head toward the closet once more. There were no windows and only one single door to access it.

How did he manage to get out?

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Genji could feel the blood rushing through his veins and his heart pounding against his ribcage as he laid flat on his back on the hard floor. The tip of his opponent's sword was mere inches from his throat, the blade lightly scratching his skin whenever he inhaled. Genji tried to move his hand toward his own blade that rested discarded on the floor right next to him, but the moment his muscles twitched his adversary pressed more firmly the weapon on his throat in response, stopping him immediately.

There was nothing he could do. He was defeated. Genji couldn't believe that he actually lost the fight. Although his opponent was much more experienced than him, he still believed that he had chance to win. He had to win, especially considering how much was at stake.

"It seems that I won once again, Genji-kun. I hope your wallet is quite full because I have every intention to take advantage of the generous offer you made earlier. I thought that after all this years, you had finally realised that betting against me is not a wise thing to do." Removing the bokken from Genji's throat, Naruto rested the practice sword on his shoulder and extended his hand to help him get up.

Genji groaned as he heard Naruto's words. Why, oh why did he said that the loser had to pay lunch to the winner? He knew very well how much ramen Naruto could eat. He would bankrupt him. Maybe he could convince the blond to go somewhere else besides Rikimaru. Yes, that was a good idea. He just needed to find the right reason.

Seeing Genji's thoughtful expression, Naruto decided to clarify immediately the situation, "And yes, we're going to Rikimaru. So you can't stop right now thinking about a way to make me change my mind. In case you've forgotten this meal is not only for me."

"Oh right. Your date with the hot doctor. How could I forget." Grabbing Naruto's hand, Genji pulled himself up from the floor as he took his bokken with him. "Are you sure about ramen though? I don't mind spend a little bit more money for a fancier meal to impress her."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto swatted him slightly on the back of the head as he moved toward the dressing room of the gym. Naruto didn't need to change his clothes, since he basically didn't break a sweat during the fight. Genji, on the other hand, was an all other story. "Stop trying to change my mind about the ramen. You put yourself in this situation and you're not going to get out of it so easily. It's not my fault if you decided to bet against me. And I've already told you that it's not a date. I'm trying to recruit her."

"Does that mean that you can introduce me to her?" Genji asked as he smiled cockily while he combed his hair with his fingers. When Naruto told him about his "date" he was curious about who this Doctor Ziegler was and decided to look her up online. Genji had to say that he definitely approved with whoever was in charge of recruitment at Overwatch. Doctor Ziegler was a fine addition indeed.

Naruto chuckled as he smiled back, "Maybe if you manage to hit me once during our fights I'll consider it."

"I think I'll pass. That is not something that will happen any time soon," sighing dramatically, Genji tilted his head to the side and flashed a grin to a pair of girl who were looking at him and Naruto from the other side of the gym, "Since my dear sensei doesn't want to help me, it seems that I'm doomed to rely on my perfect look and charming personality to find a date. Poor me."

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the two girls Genji was flirting with, Naruto let out a sigh as he shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder where that little gaki who wanted to be the greatest ninja in the world went. I remember you saying you were going to surpass me. That'll never happen if you spend more time in nightclub chasing after girls rather than training."

"Oh, I'm going to surpass you," Genji assured him as he patted Naruto on his shoulder, "Just on different things. On that note, I think that those two lovely ladies over there want to get to know this not so little gaki a little bit better. Who am I to disappoint them?"

Naruto immediately stopped Genji on his track as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him toward the dressing room. "Nothing of that. You have to first change your clothes and then buy me ramen. If you actually defeated me, you could have spent your time with those two lovely ladies. Unfortunately for you, I won so you can say goodbye to them Genji-kun."

Genji could only groan as he reluctantly followed him, his shoulders sagging dejectedly. He never thought that he would see the day that he'd dislike ramen, but right now it was really difficult for him to not curse his favourite food. He didn't say it out loud, of course. If Naruto heard him he would probably make him buy the entire ramen shop just to spite him. One thing was losing a bet, another was insulting ramen.

No one could insult ramen without repercussion.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"Oh, you're here," Naruto exclaimed, pleasantly surprised to see Angela walking toward him. He had been waiting on the rooftop for almost six hours now. Naruto, in his immense wisdom, forgot to give her an exact time at which to meet and he had the brilliant idea to wait for her on the roof since noon. Fortunately, he didn't mind waiting as he passed the time meditating, something he had learnt to appreciate when he mastered senjutsu so many years ago. Now that he thought about it, she probably had just finished her shift. He didn't sense her leaving the hospital not even once during the day.

Hugging her white coat tighter against the chilled night breeze, she approached him. She saw him sitting in a cross-legged position on the floor with an orange blanket under him and a paper bag on his left with some kanji printed on the side of it. That was slightly weird. "You told me to be here, correct? So, I'm here. What did you want to show me?"

"There's time for that. But first…" Rummaging through the paper bag he had with him on the floor, Naruto pulled out two steaming bowls of ramen and patted a spot on the blanket next to him. A broad smile plastered on his face. "I brought ramen!"

Angela raised an eyebrow but still complied with his request. During these past two days, she tried to learn more about the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki. For some reason, she had the feeling that they had met before but couldn't remember exactly when. While most of the information she found about him was either classified or heavily redacted, she had at least discovered that, apparently, the goofy blond was a fundamental part of Overwatch. A fact quite surprising, considering each vital member of the task force was well known to the public and she had never heard of him before.

Sitting down on the floor with her legs folded underneath her tights, she fixed her skirt and accepted the bowl and, thankfully, a fork and not a pair of chopsticks he offered her. She had to admit that the salty broth was a welcome addiction. While ramen was not one of the healthiest foods, at least it was warm and considering they were outside on a winter's night she needed all the warm she could get. Zürich was quite cold this time of the year.

"Jack believes that I'm the right person to recruit you because I'm an empath. He asked me to show you how important you are for Overwatch and, somehow, that should convince you to join. Unfortunately, Jack doesn't realise that you already know that," absentmindedly picking at his bowl of noodles with his chopsticks, Naruto continued, "You know you are a competent medic, all those certificates in your office are a proof of that, you simply don't believe in Overwatch. Luckily for Jack and you, that is something I can change. Possibly."

Leaning in, Naruto whispered conspirationally to her, "I'm going to tell you a secret about me that not many people know of. I'm not just a simple empath. I can actually feel other people's emotions," at her scoff of disbelief, Naruto almost bounced on the spot as he pointed an accusatory finger at her, "I knew you wouldn't believe me that's why I've come prepared."

Angela watched him with an amused expression on her face as he pulled out a thick book and a pair of reading glasses out of the bag next to him. A part of her was a little dumbfounded that he had already finished his ramen, but she simply shrugged it off as she continued to eat her own meal while she prepared herself to listen to what Naruto wanted to say. That was not the weirdest thing about the blond.

Putting the glasses on, Naruto cleared his throat, opened the book and started reading it, "Chakra is the life energy that all individuals produce to some degree. This energy circulates throughout the body in a network called the Chakra Pathway System and eight specific points of it, called the Eight Gates, have the function to limit its overall flow. Chakra is created when the physical energy, collected from the body's cells, and spiritual energy, derived from the mind's consciousness, are moulded together. Each person's chakra is differ–"

"So, let me see if I've got it right," Angela interrupted him as she put his hand over his, "You can access this chakra and, I presume, use the spiritual aspect of it to… connect yourself with other people?"

Naruto stared at her, his mouth agape in amazement. "Wow, you're really good. That's exactly what I do," pouting, he removed the glasses and dropped them with the book back in the bag, "And I had a huge speech ready to sound super smart! I stayed up all night to prepare it. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to remember things you learned at school decades ago? I didn't even listen to those lessons half of the time!"

"I'm sorry, but I do have a question if you don't mind," holding back her giggles, she waited for him to nod before continuing, "If what you say is true, then how come I've never seen any of this chakra in the human body? I've examined more than one hundred radiographs and performed just as much surgeries throughout my career and not once I've seen something like what you're describing."

Chuckling sheepishly, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Well, that's a funny story. I found out that basically every person on this planet has his or her Eight Gates almost completely shut. Usually, their function is to only limit the flow of chakra to protect the body itself but in this case they barely let pass any. Since almost no chakra is circling around your body, you can't feel it and use it like I do. I could physically force one of your gate open, but that would kill you."

"That's suspiciously convenient" Angela remarked as she finished her meal.

"I know, that's why I'm going to show it to you." Picking up the two empty ramen bowls, Naruto put them away and rubbed his hands together. "Now, I'm going to try to connect my chakra to yours. It's been a while since that last time I did it, so I'm sorry if I am a little rusty. Here we go." Taking her hand in his, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on her chakra.

Angela waited patiently but sceptically for something to happen. Honestly, she didn't believe a word Naruto was saying but she was curious of what he was going to do. This was definitely not what she was expecting when she first arrived on the rooftop. Just when she was about ask him how long it was going to take she felt something.

It was something small, a faint throbbing in the back of her head. It wasn't painful, she barely managed to notice it only because she was looking for something to happen in the first place, but it was definitely there. Before she could even understand what it was it started to grow and continued to grow until that faint throbbing encompassed her mind completely. She now understood what it was.

Emotions.

A plethora of feelings invaded her senses leaving her dazed. Happiness. Sadness. Joy. Fear. Angela didn't have the time to focus on one that immediately changed with another. This flow of emotions was constant and unforgiving as it breached her mind and overwhelmed her own feelings leaving her with no means to stop it, just like a ship buffeted by the waves of a tempestuous sea. So, she did something she never thought she'd do. She let go. Angela decided to give up her beloved control, to surrender to this unreal reality she was experiencing and simply feel.

At first she thought that she had made the right choice, as she easily went with the flow, but soon the negatives emotions started to exceed the positives. She tried to concentrate on the few lights that remained but they were quickly absorbed by the darkness around them. Her own memories, the ones that Angela pushed in the deep recess of her mind, resurfaced bringing her back to the worse day of her life. The day the omnics invaded her home.

She could faintly feel her own breath coming in shuddering gasps as she desperately searched for a way out. Anything rather than living that nightmare once again. But she had not to worry because, just like it happened so many years ago, in her darkest time a bright golden light came to her rescue.

A warm and bright feeling enveloped her and protected her dragging her out of the dark. She recognised the feeling immediately. How could she forget her guardian angel?

Angela snapped her eyes open as she came to her senses. She was back on the roof, still slightly painting and with her cheeks dampened by few stray tears, but other than that she was mostly fine. Feeling a pair of warm arms circling around her waist and a hand running up and down her back, Angela snuggled in closer, then she froze as she remembered who was the only other person on the roof with her.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea that would happen," Naruto said, his voice muffled in her hair, "I'm so used to handle the influx of emotions that I forgot how it feels for the first time. I should have controlled it better. It's my fault that you were almost consumed by it. I'm so very sorry Angela."

Hearing the anguish in his voice, Angela pressed her head into his chest and tightened her hold on him. "I'm better now. What was that?"

Naruto sighed, still feeling guilty about what happened, but responded to her, "What every single person in the world was feeling right in that moment."

That wasn't possible. Feeling other people's emotions was simply not possible. Angela wanted to say that, she wanted to do it with all her heart, yell it from the rooftop – literally and metaphorically – because if what Naruto was saying was true then everything he said about chakra before was also the truth. That was a fact that as a doctor she couldn't accept, not when her entire career taught her something completely different about the human anatomy.

On the other hand, as a scientist she couldn't deny what she had experienced first-hand. For a moment she wondered if Naruto put a hallucinogen or a similar drug in her ramen to trick her but she dismissed immediately the thought. He was her guardian angel. She couldn't believe that after all this time she had finally found him. For so long she wondered if he was only a fragment of her imagination. A protector her mind created to cope with the pain she experienced that fateful day.

Now she knew that her guardian angel was real and he would never hurt her. Thinking back to what happened just few moments ago she sighed softly as she closed her eyes. Well, he wouldn't hurt her intentionally at least. "I had no idea the most common emotions would be so… dark. Why did you want to show me that?"

"Actually that has never been my intention." Since she wasn't moving away, Naruto continued to gently rub her back. "I wanted to show you what the people felt about Overwatch but I overestimated the control I had over the influx of emotions. I'm sorry again for what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Angela reluctantly slid out of his comforting embrace and offered his hand to him. "If you don't mind I'd like to try it again," seeing the reluctant expression on his face, she added as an afterthought, "You told me that you would change my mind about Overwatch but for now the only thing that I've learnt is that the world is a much more depressing place than I first thought. Please, I want to do it."

"Are you really sure about it?" At her determined nod, Naruto took her hand and focused once more, careful to not make the same mistake again.

Angela could immediately feel the difference. This time the emotions were not as chaotic and invasive as before and she could clearly distinguish them from one another. Ever so slowly they started to grow in number and what surprised her the most was what exactly she was feeling. Especially when she compared them to what she felt before. There were several emotions involved but the main feeling, the one that everyone shared, was quite clear.

Hope.

"My ability to use chakra allows me to be capable of incredible feats. However, the ability to understand other people and see in their hearts is the one I'm the proudest of," looking up, Angela saw Naruto softly smiling at her, "Whenever I'm feeling down or my faith in humanity begins to falter I simply expand my senses and feel the world around me. This mutual sense of hope for a better and peaceful future is what restores my purpose and banishes all doubts. You said that the world doesn't need Overwatch. Can you say the same now?"

For the second time in the span of few minutes, Angela found herself without words to express what she wanted to say. While she knew about the fame of Overwatch and how the world saw them as heroes, she had no idea so many people counted so much on them. One thing was hearing about it and the other feel it personally. She could only shake her head in response.

Tilting his head, Naruto continued as he slowly pulled back his chakra and stopped the connection, "I think that instead of ignoring Overwatch, fearing what it may become, you should join it to make sure that those mistakes you're so afraid of won't happen again. Overwatch is seen as a beacon of hope and it's up to people like you to keep it that way."

"I'll consider it" Angela managed to respond, her voice barely above a whisper. Naruto gave her a lot to think about it and right now was not the moment to make life changing decisions. She was still feeling slightly dazed by the emotional roller coaster ride she has just experienced. However, the fact that her guardian angel was sitting right next to her was what shocked her the most. She had no idea how she was supposed to act, how to feel.

Should she tell him? What if he didn't remember her? After all, they met almost fifteen years ago and they talked for probably a couple of minutes, nothing more. She was quite different from the little girl she had been back then. Now that she thought about it, he was exactly as she remembered him. He hadn't aged a single day. Was this the power of the chakra he talked about before? Was it regeneration? Or maybe it extended the life span of his body's cells. He said something about the physical energy being connected to–

Feeling a warm hand gently squeezing her own, Angela looked up and her eyes met the concerned gaze of Naruto. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that for a second she forgot about his presence. Quite ironic considering who was the one she was thinking about. For a moment she wondered if he used his sensory ability to feel her inner turmoil or he simply guessed by the thoughtful expression on her face. Squeezing his hand back, Angela gave him a hesitant smile, "Could we stay like this? Just for a little while."

Naruto smiled back as he nodded his head and said without hesitation, "Of course, we can stay as long as you like."

Moving next to him, Angela rested her head on his shoulder as she slowly closed her eyes. All those questions and doubts could wait. Now, she simply wanted to enjoy the moment, basking in the security of his presence. Her memories were nothing compared to the real experience. Though Naruto was barely touching her, as he simply stood still next to her, his warmth and comfort irradiated her. Just knowing he was there was enough for her to feel safer.

Angela silently chuckled realising that what she was feeling was exactly what the rest of the world felt when thinking about Overwatch. She had faith that Naruto would protect her just like everyone else had faith in the task force. And she said that the world didn't need it.

How wrong she was.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** The last chapter I said that I wasn't good at describing a person's physical aspect and how do I start this chapter? By describing someone's physical aspect. Great job, Echoessa. You definitely know how to make your life easier. I'm such an idiot sometimes. Jokes aside, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Mercy is one of my favourite characters in Overwatch and I wanted to do her justice.

I want to say that the entire part of why Mercy didn't want to join Overwatch is not canon. The Omnica Corporation building robot-soldiers and the governments keeping parts of the factories are facts that I invented. They don't belong to the canon but are not totally impossible. I've always found weird how, according to canon, these factories simply reactivated and started producing killing machines. Just like that.

Besides, canon in Overwatch is quite complicated. The moment we're going to know more about Sombra and after the "Overwatch: First Strike" graphic novel will be released, this story will probably become AU. I'm trying to follow the canon but it's not clear yet. That's the reason why I've not even once nominated Liao. I only know the name and the fact that this Liao is one of the six founders of Overwatch. That's it. He or she would be basically an OC, so I just decided to ignore him or her. I don't even know their gender.

I'm sorry if I posted this chapter a little later than usual but last week University started again in Italy. Yeah… I think that explains everything.

I'm really glad that so many of you like this version of an immortal Naruto. My biggest fear was to turn him into a Gary Stu, but it seems that I managed to avoid that for now. Speaking of Naruto, let's talk about the giant elephant in the room that it's wearing a pink tutu and juggling on a unicycle. Yes, it is that obvious now.

Pairing.

I've tried with all my heart to avoid this subject but no matter what I do it just keep coming back so I decided, once and for all, to give you an answer. Naruto will be paired with…

Don't know! Seriously, I have no clue. Of two things I'm certain: Naruto will end up with a female character (sorry yaoi fans!) and it's not going to be a harem. Who this female is going to be or what other couples may be in the story I can't tell you because even I don't know it yet. I don't want to choose a specific paring because if some character turns out to be a better match for it, then the pairing will change accordingly.

I don't want to force my story to follow a certain pairing, I think it should be the opposite. I'm going to write the characters as I think they would act and just go from there. Honestly, Naruto is just so lovable and amazing that he could literally end up with every single character in Overwatch. I'm not joking, I've already pictured possible romantic scenes (PG-rated, you dirty minds) between Naruto and Ana, Mercy, Pharah, Tracer or Widowmaker and I wasn't even trying. They simply came to me! Since I don't want to choose a single pairing, I'll let the story choose for me. I won't even do any kind of poll.

Exactly, I'm lazy like that.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 09/27/16**

 **Last Updated: 10/19/16**


	6. Chapter 6 - See That Which Is Unseen

**Chapter 6 – See That Which Is Unseen**

Absently scratching his bare chest with his bandaged hand, Naruto tilted is head in confusion as he looked at the two excited scientists in front of him.

"You are going to inject what into me?"

"Nanorobots," Winston answered promptly, almost puffing out his chest with pride at his words, while Angela eagerly nodded her head as she stood next to her fellow scientist with a medical syringe in her hands filled with a milky white liquid. Seeing that the two of them weren't going to give him a more elaborate answer, Naruto silently sighed, squirming uncomfortably on his seat. His beloved green boxers with pink hearts the only thing between his skin and the cold metal of the medical stretcher he was sitting on.

"Okay…" Naruto cautiously affirmed, his eyes glancing warily at the syringe, "Then exactly why do you want to inject nanorobots into me?"

This time, the Swiss doctor decided to respond as she took a step forward and pointed at herself and Winston, "We have put you through every test we could think of. While we now know for sure that you are the only one who has the physique to safely handle a constant influx of chakra, we hypothesised that we could at least try to artificially emulate the effects it has on your body. In particular, we are interested in your regeneration ability."

Angela couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the results of the tests. From a medical standpoint, Naruto was the perfect specimen of a human being or, at least, the closest thing to it. His body, toned beyond belief, had barely an ounce of fat present leaving him with compact and cut muscles which were the perfect balance between strength and mobility. His bones were far sturdier than normal yet not heavier. However, what surprised her the most was his nervous system, capable to transmit signals up to one hundred times faster than a regular human being.

In short words, each and every cell in his body functioned at top efficiency. Angela had seen something similar only once in her career – when she studied the medical reports of Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes. It was completely understandable, considering whose blood was used in the Soldier Enhancement Program. The two super soldiers were not even close to the shinobi's level, though. Angela wasn't even sure if Naruto could still be classified as a human being and not something more.

"These nanorobots will simply observe how your body behaves and collect data for us," Angela continued as she showed him the syringe she had in her hands, "I promise you that you won't feel a single thing. They are programmed to not interact in any shape or form with the cells of your body, so you'll barely notice their presence in the first place. Whatever they'll manage to collect it'll be incredibly useful for us."

Wrapping his arms around his shoulders defensively, Naruto kept staring at them. "So, just to be sure, those nanorobots are not going to corrupt my mind in order to let you steal my body and achieve immortality, right?"

Angela immediately opened her mouth to deny the accusation when she suddenly stopped once she realised exactly what Naruto was asking them. Turning her head toward Winston, the two scientist exchanged a confused glance before looking back at Naruto. The gorilla from the moon was the one who broke the awkward silence as he posed a question with no small amount of confusion and a hint of dread in his voice, "Who would do such a thing?"

An image of a man with pale skin and long dark straight hair passed through Naruto's mind. His yellow reptilian eyes and elongated tongue sending a shiver down his spine. "Winston, I know you're curious but some things are better left unsaid. Trust me, in this case you really don't want to know. Let's just say that I'm really happy you two are the ones who are going to experiment on me."

"Does it mean that you'll do it?" Angela asked with a hopeful look on her face.

"I've just another question." Angela's shoulder slumped slightly but she still nodded at Naruto to continue. "Will I still be able to eat ramen? I know that this experiment is really important for you, but so is my daily intake of ramen! I've tried once to not eat it for a couple of days. Long story short, it didn't end up well. I'm just concerned about the safety of the people around me. A ramen withdrawal is not something you sh–"

"For crying out loud, give me that thing!" Having enough of the quite ridiculous – in her opinion – situation, Ana decided to take the matters in her own hands as she quickly crossed the room and snatched the syringe out of the hands of a flabbergasted Angela. Without saying another word, Ana grabbed Naruto's left arm and injected the nanorobots in his shoulder.

Naruto's mainly scream echoed inside the laboratory, "Ouch! That hurt, dattebayo!"

"I'm sure you'll live," Ana reassured him in a condescending tone, patting him lightly on the head. Turning toward the two scientists, she gave them a warm smile as she completely ignored the pouting Naruto next to her, "I think that was the last thing on the agenda, correct?"

Since Naruto wasn't technically a member of Overwatch, a field officer had to stay by his side whenever he was inside of the headquarters for an official reason. Such as being tested by the two lead scientists of the task force. Ana had no idea why the higher ups even bothered to do so, considering how most of the times Naruto simply waltzed in and out of the building to his heart's content. It's not like they could stop him if they wanted to. Just politics at his finest.

Nodding his head respectfully toward Ana, Winston responded over his shoulder as he moved toward the nearest computer, "Yes, that's all. All we have left to do now is wait for the data to be transmitted and analyse them but you two don't need to be here for that."

"And regarding ramen, you can continue to eat it," Angela added, smiling at the pouting shinobi whose eyes brightened the moment he heard her words, "In order for our data to be as correct as possible you should continue to behave like you normally do. Eating habits included. I'm almost inclined to say that you can't not eat ramen."

Naruto gazed admiringly at Angela, his eyes watering and lip quivering from emotion. "I think you're the first doctor who has ever told me that I have to eat ramen." Blinking in confusion at the tape recorder that appeared right under her nose, Angela could only wonder where Naruto was keeping it since he had only a pair of boxes on. "Do you mind say that again, a little bit slower and louder, please? Oh, don't forget to state your full name and profession. Whenever someone is about to criticise my ramen I'll simply pull out this recording. Let's see how they can rebut this!"

Unfortunately for him, his brilliant plan was spoiled by an annoyed Ana who snatched the recorder out of his hands and pointed it at Naruto. "Did you hear a word she had said beside ramen? You have to follow your daily routine and today is Tuesday. You do remember what happens on Tuesday, right?"

His cerulean eyes sparkled with excitement. "Our weekly spar!" Naruto couldn't believe he had almost forgotten about it.

"A spar would be perfect. Exactly what we need," Angela mused aloud to herself, completely absorbed in her own world forgetting for a moment who else was in the laboratory with her, "A fight, even a mock one, is the best scenario where we can analyse his muscles and nervous system. If Naruto received an injury, it would be even better. In that case we could even see the regenerative proprieties of your cells and chakra in action. Maybe a fracture. No… a cut. A cut would be perfect. Just deep enough to reach one of your organs to trigger the response of your body."

Swinging his legs childishly, Naruto pouted playfully at the still pensive doctor, "First you tell me that I can eat all the ramen that I want and then you are basically asking Ana to stab me. I'm confused Angela. Did I do something wrong? I know that sometimes my… fervent desire for godly noodles may appear a little bit over the top but I didn't think that it would warrant such a punishment."

"No, no, no! I don't want you to get hurt!" Angela frantically shook her head, finding the mere thought repulsing, as she put her hands on Naruto's chest, obviously somehow missing the playful tone in his voice. "I was just thinking as a scientist what was best for the research but your health is my main concern. I don't care about what data I may collect if your safety is in jeopardy."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly while he brought his hand to the back of his neck, "I was just kidding Angela."

"Oh…" Angela breathed out, mostly relieved and slightly embarrassed. Then her eyes trailed downwards until she saw her hands pressed on Naruto's chest. Her fingertips feeling his warm smooth defined pectoral muscles that intermittently tensed under her touch. This time, her own muscles tensed as she realised what she was doing. She was touching him. And not for a medical reason.

With her eyes wide open, she quickly pulled back her hands, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "Oh! Well, that's good then. I think I should help Winston with the data. He is capable but, as the saying goes, two heads are better than one. I'll go now."

Naruto watched her amused as she scrambled away, flustered. Shaking his head, he turned toward Ana with a cocky grin on his face. "Ready for the spar?"

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Taking a step backward on his right foot, Naruto rotated his torso just enough to avoid Ana's kick that was about to hit him straight in the chest. Her naked foot grazing lightly against his white singlet. He swiftly swatted away the leg with his bandaged hand, however Ana used the momentum from his push to spin and drive her fist to his unprotected left side. Unfortunately for her, Naruto noticed was she was about to do and blocked the punch with his left forearm. Her following hit toward his ribs with her other free hand, too, proved unsuccessful as the shinobi grabbed her wrist and twirled her around.

With her back pressed against his chest and both of her arms constricted, Ana considered her options as she deeply inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She could already feel a thin layer of sweat covering her skin under her white top and sweatpants while Naruto behind her was still fresh as a rose. The spar was still far from over but she would take advantage of a moment's breather when she could. Even if Naruto didn't use any chakra to augment his muscles he was still stronger and faster than any other human. "What are you going to do about Angela?"

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto looked down confused at the squirming Ana in his grasp, "I don't know. Is there something I should do?"

"About the crush she has on you," the Egyptian sniper grunted out as she raised her knee and tried to stamp hard on his foot. The meagre adjustment in his position he made to avoid the hit was just what Ana needed to wiggle out of his hold, roll away from him and pounce once more.

Naruto shook his head, all the while evading a combination of punches aimed at his face. Why did she have always to aim at his beautiful face? "She doesn't have a crush on me. It's hero worship. Do you remember the Titan that attacked Zürich during the war?"

"She was there?" Angela asked surprised, her right foot an inch from Naruto's cheek. Grabbing her ankle Naruto simply nodded in response as a thoughtful look crossed Ana's face. "She's twenty-three years old now. That means she must have been… what? Eight when the attack happened? Has she talked to you about it?"

Still holding her leg over his shoulder, Naruto shook his head once more, "Not yet. I don't want to push her so I'm waiting for her to bring it up. I think she feels a little intimidated by me. Not that surprising considering the first time we've met I was in my Rikudō Sennin Mōdo. Speaking of young impressionable girls awed by my mere presence, Fareeha called me."

The moment the last sentence left his mouth, Ana's eyes narrowed as her jaw clenched. Using his firm hold on her ankle against him, Ana tried to kick him with her other leg, the one she was standing on. Out of reflex, Naruto grabbed the limb that was moving toward his face, leaving Ana to fall against him as he held her by her ankles upside down. Ana wasn't finished, though. Digging her nails into Naruto's naked shins behind her shoulders, she managed to make him lessen the hold he had on her ankles and get free from it only to wrap her legs around his neck a second later.

Naruto silently admired her physical prowess. If she wasn't trying to choke him so fervently maybe he would admire her for longer but, alas, he had a promise he'd made to his little desert princess to keep. "You need to talk to her, Ana."

"I've talked to her. It's not my fault if she didn't listen to me. She's eighteen years old so she can make her own choices." Her words were accompanied by a tighter hold around his neck. In response, Naruto brought his hands to her calves and slightly parted them to allow him to breathe but he didn't let go of her.

She needed to hear this conversation more than him.

"I know that you don't approve of her decision to join the military. However, you can't simply ignore her until she changes her mind."

A certain Swedish engineer decide to walk into the room in that exact moment and he could only stand still and blink owlishly at the scene in front of him. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked with a slight giggle in his voice. It wasn't hard for Naruto and Ana to guess what Torbjörn was implying with his tone. After all, they were in a slightly compromising position, with his head wrapped around her legs as she was flush against his body upside down. Besides, after the years he'd spent travelling with Ero-Sennin, Naruto could recognise that particular giggle everywhere.

"Not now Torbjörn!" Ana's angry voice thundered through the air and the weapon smith instantly straightened his posture. Nodding his head once, he quickly left the room never once looking behind him. He was curious to know what they were arguing about but even his nosiness had its limits. An enraged Ana was not something he wanted to face. Not now, not ever.

Letting out a sigh, Naruto gently pushed Ana's legs off his shoulders, waiting for her to go into a handstand before releasing completely the hold he had on her ankles. Torbjörn's interruption was actually quite helpful to Naruto. His sudden arrival slowed the pace of the fight down and let Ana vent some of her frustration. Great for Naruto, not so much for the poor Torbjörn.

As Ana planted her feet on the ground, her eyes were fixed on her hands as she slowly massaged her wrists, much too aware of Naruto's gaze on her. "I'm not too thrilled at her decision to join the military but I'm not even completely against it. She comes from a family of soldiers, so I was expecting that. I disapprove of the reason why she decided to do so."

Her eyes moved up to his face and Naruto was startled by her distressed expression. "She wants to join Overwatch."

Comprehension softened his gaze as he took a step forward. "Ana…"

"I know that I should be proud that she wants to follow my footsteps. I am proud of her," Ana confirmed to herself as she involuntarily took a step back shaking her head, refusing to meet his eyes, "But I don't want this type of life for her. I joined Overwatch so that she would be safe. Whenever there's a major crisis Overwatch is the first one to be called. The first one on the front lines ready to defend the peace we fought so hard for. I don't want my daughter to be there."

A gasp escaped her lips as she tried to even her breathing, "Every time I brought her here into the headquarters, I simply wanted to spend more time with her. It wasn't my intention to convince her to join the organisation. Everything I did was to keep her safe and now I'm terrified that one day she may not come back home."

"Hey, hey. None of that now," Naruto reassured her softly as he put a hand under her chin and lifted her face to him, "You are talking about Fareeha. You – we have trained her. We have prepared her for this. She's a smart, strong and resourceful young woman. I know that you're scared, but don't underestimate her. She is your daughter, after all."

Ana gave him a watery smile as she tilted her head toward his hand, increasing the pressure of his touch on her cheek, "How did you do it? Your children were shinobi like you, right? They were even younger than my Fareeha. How did you manage to let them go on missions?"

"I was their father but I was also their Hokage. I was the one who chose their missions and I may have picked an easy one once or twice. By accident, of course, but my children never believed me. They always complained when they received a stupid D-rank and not a super awesome dangerous A-rank. Their words, not mine," sighing dramatically, Naruto winked at her, "I was constantly swamped by paperwork. It's not my fault if, sometimes, my fingers slipped and I picked up the wrong scroll."

Ana couldn't hold back a small chuckle at his melodramatic behaviour and Naruto's lips twitched, his heart a little lighter than before. "Unfortunately, I don't have the magical solution to this type of situation. As parents, we will always worry about our children safety. No matter how many precautions are taken, it'll never be enough for us," gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb, he offered her an apologetic smile, "The only advice I can give to you is to always be there for her when she asks you to and just have faith in her."

After taking a deep breath, Ana tiredly nodded her head as she closed the distance between them. Her arms wrapped around his middle and Naruto quickly did the same, resting his chin on the crown of her head while his hands softly stroked the small of his back. Naruto felt kind of useless in this situation and hated the feeling with all his heart. Even after telling her his advice, he could feel that she was still worried. What would make Ana feel better?

"Do you want me to create a clone so that I can watch over Fareeha 24/7?"

Looking up at him, Ana raised a single eyebrow and tried to keep a straight face at his absurd suggestion. Only Naruto could propose something like that. "Isn't that a little bit too much? And creepy?"

"That was not a no," he chirped in a singsong voice.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. An exasperated smile on her face, "No, Naruto. I don't want you to follow Fareeha 24/7. Not even if you're using one of your clones."

"Are you sure?" he asked her again, "Don't you want some time to think about it? Creating a clone is really not a big deal for me, it wouldn't be a problem. These days I barely notice when I make one. Well, except for the times when I receive a sudden flood of memories of my clones going on a pranking spree. The US president is still mad that my face was added to the Mount Rushmore, even if it was just temporarily. Personally, I thought it was funny. Besides, what is wrong with my face?"

Ana groaned as she buried her face in his chest while poking him in the ribs, "And you want one of your clones near Fareeha. I don't even want to think about what they may do out of sheer boredom. Probably something stupid like painting every single vehicle of the Egyptian military neon orange."

A low deep chuckle rumbled up from his chest as Naruto held her closer to him, "Fine, fine. I won't send any clone to watch over Fareeha." Closing his eyes, he smiled into her silky black hair, happy to see that most of the tension was gone from her shoulders. Just because he didn't have the perfect solution, it didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to help her.

As he breathed in her scent, Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open when he felt a prickle on the back of his neck. It took him less than a second to realise what it was – someone was using his Hiraishin mark. His mind immediately went to Fareeha, afraid that Ana's worries came true. However, the signal originated much further east than the African continent and a sense of dread spread through the pit of his stomach once Naruto realised who was calling him.

Pulling back from the embrace, Naruto gave Ana an uneasy smile. He didn't want to worry her but he really needed to go. Three words left his mouth before he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Genji's calling me."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"Angela!"

Every man, woman and animal inside of the Overwatch headquarters stopped dead in their tracks as Naruto's voice boomed through the halls. No one has ever heard the goofy, lovable blond yell like that. Naruto was always happy, always ready to cheer you up when you felt down. He has never sounded so… distraught.

Hearing Naruto calling her, Angela immediately darted out of her laboratory and the doctor gasped at the scene in front of her. The blond shinobi was standing still in the middle of the hallway soaking wet as water dripped down his face. His white singlet and workout shorts completely soaked, both by water and blood. In his arms, he was holding a young man and only the faint rise and fall of his chest convinced Angela that he was indeed still alive. Several cuts covered his entire body, many of them already infected. His right arm was completely missing and the remaining limbs were not in much better condition.

By the time she ended her first analysis, Naruto was already in front of her, his blue eyes pleading with her. "His name is Genji Shimada, twenty-one years old. I have no idea how long he has been in this condition. When I found him he was already like this, lying in a ditch covered in mud and blood. I couldn't find his arm. There was no time to look for it. It was pouring and I wanted to bring him to you as fast as possible," Naruto took a deep breath, realising he was rambling, and look straight into Angela's eyes, "Please, save him."

Angela didn't waste a second as she immediately started to examine Genji while shouting instruction to the medical staff over her shoulder. In a matter of seconds, a medical stretcher was right next to them and Naruto gently laid the green haired man on it. As the blood stained the white sheet, Genji began to cough and wearily opened a single eye, groggily looking around trying to understand where he was. When his gaze fell upon a mop of incongruously spiky blond hair, his lips curved into a crooked smile.

"Hey ojisan. It seems that I'll follow your footsteps after all, ne?" Genji joked, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper, as his eye glanced at the stump of his right arm. His smile disappeared as he, once again, cleared his throat and continued to talk, "I thought I could beat him… He used the dragons. I never thought he would–"

A coughing fit interrupted him and Naruto immediately leaned in closer, gently raising his head with his hand to help him breathe better. The blond shinobi wanted to tell him to stop talking, to simply rest and regain his strength, but the words choked in his throat when Genji brought the Hiraishin kunai Naruto gave to him to his chest. His left hand still holding it tightly. "I didn't want to call you. I thought I could take care of him myself... Make you proud."

Seeing that they were about to move him, Naruto affectionately tousled Genji's hair, uncaring of the blood and dirt that sullied even more the bandages of his prosthetic arm as he gently removed the kunai from the Shimada's grasp with his other hand. "I'm already proud of you, Genji-kun. You have nothing to prove to me. Now let the doctors take care of you. I'm going to keep the kunai for now but I promise that I'll give it back to you once you wake up, alright?"

Naruto saw Genji faintly nod his head in response as the stretcher began to move, the medical staff with Angela in charge guiding him toward the operation room and disappearing behind the double doors. Glaring at the kunai in his hand, Naruto tightened his hold, almost snapping it in half, before he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Genji was with Angela now, one – if not the best doctor in the world, and for all his amazing abilities, Naruto's chakra was essentially useless in this situation. He could only wait. Looking down at the bloody kunai in his hand once more, his blue eyes narrowed. He couldn't simply stand still. Not when he needed answers.

And Naruto knew perfectly where to find them.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

As he bowed his head with his face to the ground once last time, Hanzo stood up from his seiza position on the floor and respectfully left the room, heading toward his bedroom. The elders were extremely pleased with his report. The mission they assigned to him was vital for the clan so he diligently accomplished it just like any other mission before. This time, however, he received a more substantial reward for its completion.

By the end of the week, he – Shimada Hanzo, heir of the great Shimada clan – would be recognised as clan head.

After years of hard training, he was finally going to receive his father's legacy and guide the clan toward a shining new era. At first, some believed he was far too young for such a huge responsibility, saying that a twenty-four years old couldn't possibly understand the duties and tasks the position entailed, but he was a prodigy and no one could deny it. Hanzo showed them times and times again his skill in and out of the battlefield, and now they had finally recognised his worth.

The facts were clear. He was ready. They knew it and he knew it.

So, why couldn't his hands stop shaking?

Walking into his bedroom, Hanzo had barely the time to slide the door closed behind him before dropping on his knees on the futon in the centre of the Spartan room. His breathing became erratic, his palms sweaty. Closing his eyes, he focused on slowing his heart rate to a more normal pace, using the meditation techniques he had learnt during his younger years. Just when his breathing started to even out, he heard a deep male voice right behind him.

"What's going on Hanzo? Perhaps feeling guilty?"

Hanzo jumped to his feet and spun around. His hands already on the handle of the katana strapped to his hip as his eyes methodically scanned the empty dark room in front of him. He couldn't see, hear, smell or feel any kind of presence near him but he knew that he wasn't alone. His first objective was to find where this intruder was hiding. He needed to make him talk. "Are the enemies of the Shimada already sending assassins to kill the new head of the clan? I don't know if I should feel honoured or annoyed."

"New head of the clan?" the mysterious voice mocked him from the darkness, "Is that the reward you were promised for killing your brother?"

Taking a deep breath, Hanzo unsheathed his katana and held it straight in front of him. He couldn't allow his opponent to see the distress caused by his words. "He was a disgrace for the clan. Show yourself and confront me face to face, you coward!"

Several moments of agonizing silence followed his words and, for a second, Hanzo wasn't sure if the intruder was still present in the room or not. All of the sudden, a hand grasped his wrists and a blow in the back of his knee made him tumble to the ground. Hanzo tried to stand up but to no avail as his enemy pinned him on the floor, a weight on the middle of his back and his own katana pointed at his neck.

"If Genji was a disgrace what are you, Hanzo?" the future clan head heard his attacker say in his hear, "What else could you call a man who is willing to kill his own brother for the praise of a bunch of old fools stuck in the past if not a disgrace?"

As he struggled to free himself, Hanzo managed to turn his head slightly to the side, his cheek pushed against the tatami mats, but the darkness of the room was still hiding the feature of his aggressor. Huffing, he angrily snarled at him, "You know nothing!"

The blade of his katana pressed more firmly against his neck and Hanzo immediately stopped moving. He could feel a small trickle of blood running down his neck and the cold metal of the blade digging into his skin. Hanzo closed his eyes, waiting for his enemy to finish him but nothing happened. All of a sudden there was no blade pointed at his neck and no weight pinning him down.

Getting up from the floor, he turned around and saw his assailant standing few feet from him, still hiding in the shadows with the katana in his hands. "You told me I know nothing," he casually commented as he threw the blade at the feet of the Shimada heir, "Please, explain to me."

Hanzo looked at him wearily, his hand itching toward the blade on the floor but not daring to take it. Not yet, at least. "Are you not here to kill me?"

The stranger chuckled at the question, finding the mere idea of him killing someone absolutely hilarious, "No, Hanzo. That is not my intention. Since the moment I've arrived, I just asked you question after question, yet you still haven't answered to even one. Why did you fight against Genji?"

Straightening his back, Hanzo stared at the dark figure in front of him. A clansman, sooner or later, would definitely come to check on him so he simply needed to stall for time. "The elders ordered me to."

"And you simply accepted it?"

Hanzo firmly nodded his head, his eyes glancing at the door as he responded, "The clan needs to be united. A weak link weakens the entire chain."

"I don't want to know about the clan, Hanzo. I want to know about you," the stranger tiredly sighed as he tilted his head, "Do you approve of the decision made by the elders?"

"Yes."

Orange irises glowed brightly into the dark and Hanzo had to take a step back at the sight of those cross shaped pupils staring right into his soul. His voice sounded ethereal in the empty room, like a judgement made by a superior being. Unmistakable and final. "Liar."

With that said, the stranger took a step forward, finally revealing himself to Hanzo. A young man, far younger than the heir imagined, stood in front of him. His blond hair and tanned skin were lit up by a faint moonlight that seeped in through the thin paper wall of the Japanese compound as his now cerulean eyes were looking at him with a hint of sadness and pity. Hanzo took another step back, confused by what he was seeing. Why was this man pitying him?

"I hope you're going to stop lying to yourself soon, Hanzo," Naruto stated as he kept on moving around the room with slow steady steps, "It's going to hurt at first, but hiding your pain and guilt behind lies is only going to be worse in the long run. You'll have to forgive yourself first, that's going to be the most difficult part."

Throwing himself down upon his katana, Hanzo firmly grasped the weapon in his hands and bent on one knee as he pointed the blade straight in front of him. "I have no idea who you are or what you are talking about. I am the heir of the Shimada clan. I am not lying to myself."

"That's true, you're the heir," Naruto remarked, not the least bothered by the weapon aimed at him, "But you're also a brother. You'll see." Giving him one last sad smile, Naruto disappeared from the room.

For long interminable minutes Hanzo simply stood there. His muscles completely still with his katana drawn as his eyes were fixed on the spot the blond was standing mere seconds before. He had no idea who that strange man was, but he would find him and show him what happened to whom humiliated a member of the Shimada clan. Calling him a disgrace. A lair! How dare he?! The sword slipped from his fingers and embedded itself into the floor as his heavy breathing filled the room. The sacrifice of his brother was necessary for the prosperity of the clan. Hanzo was certain of it. It was the right choice to make.

So, why couldn't his hands stop shaking?

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** One new thing I learned about FanFiction: talk about pairings and you'll get a lot of reviews. I had no idea so many of you were so interested in that. Stupid me, spending time thinking about an intriguing plot and consistent character development. You just want to see Naruto bang a bunch of chicks. Don't worry… I'm the same.

I honestly blurted out laughing when I read the very first review of the last chapter.

Luraso: "Naruto x Mercy"

Are you serious Luraso? xD I've just said that I'm not going to choose a pairing and that was your answer? Thank you so much Luraso, please never change.

In this chapter you had the first taste of a fighting scene. I know, they're not great but I honestly don't know how to write those types of scenes so, please, just bear with me for now. I promise I'll improve in time. Let's be real, I promise I won't get worse. Maybe.

I just want to specify something. Naruto is overpowered. Everything that happened in the Naruto canon (The Last and Boruto the Movie, included) also happened in this story. The only difference is that my version of Naruto stopped ageing around the age of twenty-five – the reason will be explained in future chapters. Naruto is so overpowered in those movies and I really didn't want to nerf him with an absurd excuse just to level the playing field. I don't like it and it's not needed. As you can see from this chapter, not everything can be resolved by crushing a mountain with a single punch. The challenges that Naruto will have to face in the future won't be physical but more mental.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 10/03/16**

 **Last Updated: 11/15/16**


	7. Chapter 7 - You Are Only Human

**Chapter 7 – You Are Only Human**

Naruto groggily opened his eyes as the smell of coffee invaded his nostrils, then groaned. Loudly. Placing a hand on the back of his neck, he gently massaged his tense muscles while he pulled himself back up straight into the chair. His chakra was already at work, the familiar and warm feeling spreading throughout his whole body, as the stiffness accumulated during the night slowly melted away. How much he hated sleeping on a chair.

"Thank you," he murmured, taking the mug of coffee offered to him and putting it in his lap.

Ana looked at him concerned, but gave him a tiny smile nonetheless, "You're welcome. How is he?"

Letting out a sigh, Naruto moved his head toward the young man resting on the medical bed in front of him. The constant beeping of the machines that monitored his vitals echoed in the room in rhythm with his breathing. "Just like yesterday. He is stable and we're waiting for him to wake up to see what to do next," Naruto responded as he passed a hand through his messy hair, "Exactly the same Angela told me last week and the week before that."

Ana crouched down next to him and put a comforting hand over his bandaged arm covered by the long sleeve of his usual dark grey trench coat. Her brown worried eyes fixed on his tired blue. He looked haggard, with the unshaved stubble growing from his chin and unkempt hair. Sleeping on a chair for two entire weeks surely wasn't healthy for him. Mentally scoffing at her thought, Ana slightly shook her head. She knew Naruto very well – he probably hadn't slept at all most of the nights. How could he sleep when someone close to him was hurt?

"Do you want me to stay here with you? I'm sure Fareeha will understand. I can always meet her some other time."

A grateful smile worked its way across his face as Naruto put down on the floor the mug of coffee and turned fully toward her. "No, Fareeha needs you more than I do. You two have talked on the phone but you still need to have a nice, long conversation face to face. Go home and don't worry about this old man. One would think that after all these years, I would know how to behave in this kind of situation. After all, It's definitely not the first time I'm watching a friend of mine laying on an hospital bed. I'm probably worrying you and all the others with my moping."

"You shouldn't think about us." Moving in closer, Ana tightened her hold on his arm. "Yes, it's true that we miss the old, happier you. Even your stupid pranks, or your morbid ramen addiction, or how you like to use the Hiraishin to appear right behind us just to scare us, or–"

"Have I ever told you how terrible you are at making people feel better? In case you're wondering, I'd be more than happy to elucidate it for you," Naruto commented with a slight quirk to his lips. His eyes twinkling with a hint of mirth.

"However…" Ana continued as she stared at him, fighting the smile that tugged at her own lips, "Your moping, as you so eloquently describe it, simply shows us how much you care for us. I'm amazed how your immortality didn't turn you into a jaded, cynical individual. It would be incredibly easy for you to simply stop caring and think only about yourself but you choose the other path, the more difficult one. You choose to allow yourself to still create bonds with other people and every day I'm grateful that you made that choice."

Smiling at him, Ana took his bandaged hand in her own, "You are always worrying about everyone else. For once, let us worry about you."

"Fine. But you're still going back to Egypt, young lady," Naruto ordered as he pointed a finger at her. His tone of voice playful but still leaving no room for argument or discussion. "I have no idea when Fareeha will be able to get another leave so you'd better not waste it. Spend time with her and work things out between the two of you. After that, and only after that, you can fuss all you want over me. I promise you I'm not even going to complain. Do we have a deal?"

Ana stood up and dusted herself off before nodding to him and moving toward the door, "Deal. Now I have to go but remember to talk with the others if you need something, and drink the coffee I brought to you while it's still warm," Just when she was about to exit the room, Ana turned around and added one last thing, "And please, for the safety of every man, woman and animal inside of this building, take a shower. You really stink, Naruto. See you in a week."

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto brought the mug of coffee to his lips to take a sip and then dropped it in his lap. He was once more alone with Genji. Unable to contain his curiosity, Naruto sniffed at himself and grimaced.

Ana was right. He really needed to take a shower.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

The moment he regained consciousness, Genji knew that something was different. He had no recollection of where he was, how he did end up there, and his mind was a complete blank whenever he tried to recall his last memory but he had one single certainty – something was different. Unfortunately, he had no idea of what exactly. There was only this vague knowledge, so clear yet so confusing and frustrating at the same time, that his life for the better or the worse had changed completely and irremediably. Genji had two options in front of him: he could continue to think about it and try to find the solution to what was bothering him, or simply move on for now and come back to it at a later date.

The choice was obvious.

He had never been much of a thinker.

Opening his eyes, a plain white ceiling greeted him and an obnoxious, constant beeping sound reached his ears. His first instinct was to smash the hellish machine with his hand to stop the noise. So, that's what he did, or at least wanted to do. When Genji tried to lift his arm nothing happened, the sound was still there steadily ringing into his ears.

As he closed his eyes in futile concentration, he tried over and over again to accomplish his self-imposed task, however the arm was still not moving. Why couldn't he move it? Everything was still a little bit hazy in his mind, but Genji was sure that he should be able to do something as simple as controlling his own limb. Slowly memory started to come back. The clan. His brother. A fight. The rain. Naruto. And then nothing.

He finally remembered. His brother cut his arm off, that's why he couldn't move it. For some reason, Genji almost burst out laughing at the quite simple resolution of his recent dilemma. How could he have forgotten? Some people forget their keys, others birthdays and anniversaries. He, instead, forgot that his dear Hanzo-nii had separated a limb from his body. He would have slapped his forehead with his hand if, well, he still had his hand attached to his arm. This time, Genji actually laughed aloud and it proved to be a terrible thing to do.

Squirming in the bed, Genji began to cough roughly. His throat raw and aching with every breath he took. He painfully found out that his wounds were not limited only to his arm. He tried to lift his torso, wanting to sit up straight on the bed, but, for the second time since he woke up, he found himself incapable of moving a part of his body. It felt as though the pull of gravity suddenly increased tenfold, pinning him down to the mattress. Just when he was about to try it again, he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder slowly pulling him up followed by a voice he knew very well.

"Easy now, Genji-kun. You've just woken up. Don't move too much and take a couple of deep breaths. Your throat is still probably tender right now, so it's better if you don't talk for a while."

The voice of his sensei was enough to calm him down and, following his advice, Genji inhaled and exhaled slowly through his nose as he kept his eyes closed. His throat was sore, but it was slowly getting better. Of course Naruto was there. Genji's memories were blurred and incoherent for the most part but he remembered quite clearly that the blond was the one who brought him to the hospital. Genji almost groaned aloud at the thought – Naruto was probably royally pissed off at him. After all, he decided to call him only when the fight against his brother was over and he was lying half dead on the ground.

Yep, Naruto was definitely going to be livid with him.

Taking another deep breath, the young apprentice prepared himself to face his sensei. Hopefully, the fact that he was lying in a hospital bed would mitigate his punishment. Genji opened his eyes and, just as he had imagined, Naruto was standing right next to him. His smile was a little strained but the Shimada could clearly see the relief in his blue eyes. Ok, maybe he wasn't that angry with him. Or maybe he was lulling him into a false sense of security just to strike him when he least expected. His sensei was quite devious when he wanted to.

"You really scared me there, Genji-kun," Naruto continued, oblivious of the worries floating in the head of the young man in front of him, "You've been asleep for almost twenty days."

That fact derailed Genji's train of thought. Twenty days? So long? Sure, Hanzo was aiming to kill him, but the wounds he received weren't that bad. After all, he was still conscious enough to call Naruto with his Hiraishin a couple of minutes after the battle ended. Or was it a couple of hours later? His memory of what happened after the fight was still quite blurred. While he was lost in thought, a movement to his left touched the corner of his vision, and Genji finally noticed the third person in the room. Wow, it took him so long to notice someone who was standing not even ten feet from him. No wonder Hanzo beat him. A civilian was able to sneak up on him!

The young woman standing to his left was meticulously scrutinizing the various machines surrounding the bed as she scribbled notes on the clipboard she was holding in her hands. Every once in a while, she would glance in his direction giving him a warm smile, before going back to her task. The white lab coat and the stethoscope around her neck immediately identified her as a doctor. A very pretty doctor, if Genji had to be honest with himself, and someone who looked extremely familiar to him.

Almost as if reading his mind, Naruto answered his unasked question, "She is Dr Angela Ziegler, the one I've talked you about. She saved your life."

Ah, the hot doctor! Now Genji remembered. So, she was the one who saved him? Hundreds of possible pick-up lines flooded his mind in a fraction of a second. This situation was just absolute perfection. He could start with a lighter approach, something along the lines of "Are you sure she saved me? I thought I was in heaven and saw an angel", followed by the more direct "I'm ready to play doctor with you whenever you are". Alas, his throat was still quite sore so Genji simply nodded his head gratefully in her direction. Just because he had a completely healthy appreciation for the fairer sex, it didn't mean that he had no manners.

Somehow, Angela managed to look bashful while still maintaining her dignified demeanour at Naruto's words. "My team and I simply did our job. If Naruto had brought you to us even a minute later, we probably wouldn't have been able to save you. I think he is the one who should receive your gratitude, Mr. Shimada."

Clearing her throat, Angela glanced down at the medical records in her hands for a moment before looking up back at Genji. Her expression slightly tighter than before but still warm. "Anyway, now that you're awake and stable, we should talk about what happened during your operation, Mr. Shimada. If that's alright with you."

Genji immediately nodded his head in response, beckoning her to continue. His memory was still blurred and any new piece of information was welcome. He was tired of being left in the dark. Seeing him nod, Angela continued, "As I said before, you were in extremely critical condition when you arrived here. Several of your major organs were damaged beyond repair and, even in the unfeasible possibility that we had a compatible transplant for each one of them, you wouldn't have survived the operation. In order to save your life, we had to resort to a more experimental procedure."

"Mr. Shimada," Angela said approaching his bed. Her lips curving into a more sympathetic smile as she prepared herself to deliver the news, "As of now, over seventy percent of your body is composed of cybernetic implants…"

Whatever Angela said after that, Genji simply didn't listen. His ears faintly picked up something about rehabilitation and what probably was a long list medicines but Genji didn't care. His mind was fixed on a single number. Seventy. Seventy percent of him was no longer himself. Could he consider himself still a human? Was he a omnic now? Should he change his name? What made him Shimada Genji was still there or was he someone – something else?

"Angela," Naruto's voice interrupted the Swiss doctor who looked at him confused, "Could you please leave us for a moment?"

Seeing Genji's unfocused expression, Angela immediately understood the situation and excused herself as she moved toward the door, "Of course. I'll be waiting right outside. Take all the time that you need and call me when you're done."

As the doctor pulled the door closed behind her, Naruto tiredly dragged a chair next to the bed and plopped himself down. Shoulders slumping forward, he let out a long sigh and passed a hand through his hair. "If you want to blame somebody, blame me," Naruto said, looking upon Genji's unmoving form, "I was the one who convinced Angela to use the more experimental approach to save your life. I thought that you wanted to live no matter the cost, so I made that choice believing it was the right one for you. I'm sorry."

Several moments of absolute silence passed, the only sound filling the sombre room was the now familiar beeping of the machines. Naruto was patiently waiting Genji's response as the young Shimada kept staring down straight in front of him, his eyes unfocused and distant. Blinking once, Genji opened his mouth to speak, "Mirror…"

The Shimada almost recoiled in horror at the sound of his own voice. That was what he sounded like? It wasn't the voice of a human being the one he was hearing. But one of a machine. An omnic.

He didn't have time to ponder on that thought because, just as he had asked, Naruto held a mirror in front of him and Genji looked at his own reflection for the first time after the operation. The first thing he noticed was the absence of his glorious green hair. Quite vain of him to do so, but he's never considered himself a humble person. Thankfully, his hair wasn't completely gone. The doctors probably had to shave his head during the operation, so it would eventually grow back in the future.

Then came the scars.

One, long and broad, was above his right eye, cutting vertically through his eyebrow. Another one was even bigger and jagged, running from an inch above his left brow to his right cheekbone, passing over the bridge of his nose. These vivid red scars were even more visible against his pale complexion, which was paler than he remembered.

However, that was nothing compared to the rest of his face.

His jaw and part of his cheekbones were completely covered by two white metallic plates with green accents, one on each side of his face, that connected down in the middle where another black plate was casing his chin, barely leaving his lips exposed. A black rubbery substance, instead, was wrapped around his neck and continued down over his chest.

The rest of his body was not visible, hidden by the sheets, and Genji was thankful for that. He had no idea how much his body changed after the operation and, considering that he could only feel the toes of his left leg, he didn't want to know. Not for now.

"You don't need to ask for forgiveness, ojisan. You did the right choice. I want to live," Genji whispered at last, his gaze still fixed on his reflection in the mirror, "I'll live and I'm going to make them all pay. The clan. The elders. My brother. Each one of them will curse the day they tried and failed to kill me."

Dropping the mirror on the bedside table, Naruto approached Genji, his eyes full of concern. "You shouldn't think like that, Genji-kun. Revenge is never the right path."

"To defend the honour of the Shimada's name they're willing to kill one of their own. Perhaps I should give them a lesson in humility. Overwatch is fighting against the organized crime, correct?" Genji continued, ignoring Naruto's words, "I could help you. As the son of the former head of the clan I have a lot of information on the inner workings of the criminal empire controlled by the Shimada clan. Key figures, magazines, smuggling routes and much more than that. I'm willing to tell you everything if you'll help me destroy them."

Naruto placed a hand on Genji's shoulder, finally snapping the Shimada out of his musing. "Are you listening to yourself? That's not who you are."

"And what am I?! Look at me!" Genji snarled back at him. His nostrils flaring as he, involuntarily, raised his new cybernetic right arm and slapped away Naruto's comforting hand which was resting on his shoulder. In his emotional state, Genji didn't even notice that he was finally able to move his arm. "I'm a monster and it's because of them that I am this… thing! They must pay."

Taking a step back, Naruto stared sadly at his apprentice. Gone was the confident, stubborn, carefree, cheerful, young man he had come to know in the last decade. In his place, a mere shadow of what he once was. The immortal shinobi had heard this type of conversation too many times to count during his lifetime. He just had the naïve hope that Genji would not be one of those cases.

Never once looking away from Genji's eyes, Naruto responded to him in a tone of absolute conviction, "I'm looking at you, Genji-kun, and I can assure that I don't see any monster."

Chuckling mirthlessly, Genji shook his head, "The rest of the world doesn't see things like you do, ojisan. I don't see things like you do. Probably the world would be a better place if we did and I wouldn't be on this bed. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I'd like to talk with Dr Ziegler now."

Naruto opened his mouth to continue but he closed it when he saw Genji once more gazing off into the distance, his eyes focusing on nothing in front of him. As Naruto moved toward the exit of the room, a resigned expression marred his face.

"Hate is a great burden to bear, Genji," the blond shinobi said over his shoulder as he put his bandaged hand on the door knob. Even if the Shimada wasn't listening to him, Naruto had to try at least one last time to show him the error of his ways. "Now, you're clinging to your hate so that you don't have to deal with the pain you're feeling, but that is not a long term solution. You may think that if you accomplish your vendetta you'll finally be at peace. You're wrong. Hate generates only more hate. Once you'll fulfil your desire for revenge, you're simply going to switch target and repeat the cycle over and over again. Never finding the sense of fulfilment you're looking for. I hope you realise it before it's too late. Until then, I'll always be there for you."

After leaving the room, Naruto closed the door behind him and leaned his body back against it. His eyes closed as he rubbed his temples in a circular motion with his hand. How could everything go so wrong in such short amount of time?

"Naruto? Are you alright?" Seeing the state he was in, Angela approached him. A frown on her face as she looked at him. That was his life now? Naruto mused to himself. Having beautiful women constantly concerned about his condition? He had no idea whether to be happy or worried about it.

"Honestly, no. I'm not fine at all," Naruto confessed to her as he nervously scratched the back of his head, "I find myself in a difficult situation and I have no idea how to solve it."

The honest answer startled Angela more than she was willing to admit. While it was true that in the past few weeks Naruto was not as lively as usual, he was still Naruto. Her guardian angel. He was the one who always knew how to solve a problem and if there wasn't a solution, he simply created one. Your faith in him was never misplaced. Nothing was impossible for him. Or, at least, that was what she had always believed.

All of the sudden, Naruto moved away from the door. His expression no longer grave but a weird mixture between determination and nervousness as he cupped Angela's face in his hands, his lips kissing softly the crown of her head. Angela didn't know what caused this rapid mood swing but she wasn't going to question it. She was mostly grateful rather than curious of his change. There was simply something wrong in seeing Naruto looking all sad and depressed.

"I have to go now," the shinobi told her, his hands still cupping her cheeks, "Genji wants to talk to you and my advice is to simply be yourself with him. Don't pity him but neither be too harsh. Just be you. That is exactly what he needs right now. I'll talk to you later."

His words were followed by a flash of light and Angela found herself standing alone in the middle of an empty hallway. Straightening her back, she took a deep breath and moved toward Genji's room. A patient needed her right now and she couldn't think about Naruto. Obviously, she was going to call him later, just to make sure he was actually alright, but Angela wasn't half as worried as she was merely minutes prior.

Naruto was going to be fine. She was sure of that. He was her guardian angel, after all.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

As a sniper who spent almost three decades in the military, Ana was quite proud of her nerves of steel. Missions rarely went according to plan, much to her chagrin. With so many variables involved, that particular fact was almost the only certainty she had when she was out on the field. Consequently, Ana mastered, mission after mission, the ability to remain calm under pressure because her own safety and the one of the soldiers under her command depended on it. No matter how stressful things escalated, she always kept a level head and logically analysed the situation in front of her to find the appropriate solution.

That's why when someone knocked at her front door in the middle of the night she didn't panic. Ana swiftly but calmly got out of her bed, threw a light silk robe on which reached to mid-thigh, took out the gun resting in her bedside drawer and walked toward the front door not once losing her composure. Ana could honestly say that she was ready for almost every possible scenario that was waiting for her behind that door. And that wasn't arrogance, but mere confidence in her abilities. From the start of a Second Omnic Crisis to a shortage of peanut butter for Winston, nothing was going to catch her by surprise.

Except for a fidgeting Naruto standing in front of her door, awkwardly asking her if he could come in.

That was something she could have never foreseen. First of all, Naruto never asked permission to enter in her house. He simply knocked on the door, said hello, optionally pranked you if he felt like it, and simply strolled inside. He didn't need to ask. He was basically part of the family. Second, Naruto never fidgeted. Yes, sometimes he was nervous or sheepish, but he was so confident in himself that it never lasted more than a couple of seconds, tops. That's why Ana kept staring at him utterly confused with her mouth slightly ajar, unsure how to act in this situation.

"So, can I come in?" Naruto repeated the question as he nervously shifted on his feet.

Ana finally gave him an answer and dumbly nodded her head as she stepped aside from the threshold and invited him in. Wordlessly, Naruto entered the house and immediately headed toward the kitchen. Without saying a word, the blond began to pull out from the cabinets everything he needed to prepare some tea. Ana knew that he was stalling for time, but she didn't stop him choosing, instead, to sit on one of the stool after putting her gun away and patiently wait for him to collect his thoughts and start the conversation. It was around three in the morning so a tea was not a bad idea. She was still half asleep, after all.

"Genji woke up," Naruto informed her, his back toward her, as he put a kettle of water on the fire and stared at it, waiting for it to begin to boil, "The operation was a success. He is stable and seems fine… physically." Ana could clearly hear a but coming. "Mentally, though, it's a complete different story. He sees himself as a monster. Saying that his clan turned him into a 'thing' and because of that they have to pay. And he'll make sure of it."

"He even wants to join Overwatch. Saying that this way he'll help us against the Shimada's criminal organisation," a mirthless chuckle escaped his lips as his shoulders shook slightly, "I've always hoped that he someday would do it, but not for this reason."

Turning around, Naruto filled the teapot of hot water from the kettle and silently prepared the tea for both of them. Ana couldn't help but admire how Naruto diligently performed the precise movements of preparing the hot drink as he put a teaspoon of sugar and few mint leaves in each of the two cups before pouring the dark amber tea infusion into them. She wasn't exactly surprised by what she was seeing. Naruto prepared her tea so many times that he could probably make it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back.

Giving Ana one of the cups, Naruto sat down on a stool opposite her and slowly stirred his tea. "Did I make the right choice? I mean…" the blond shinobi trailed off, gulping slightly, "I like to consider myself a mere observer. Someone who should never intervene and simply give advice from the sidelines. Then, I make such a great decision about Genji's life without asking him first. A part of me is happy that he doesn't hate me but, honestly, I think I would have been fine if he did. Probably I would have even preferred it. I was the one who asked Angela to put him through the process of cyberization. However, he's only blaming the Shimada clan."

Ana hummed in thought as she brought the cup of tea to her lips and took a sip, "Sometimes I think you forget that you're just a human being, Naruto. You may consider yourself a 'mere observer' but you still have your own wishes and desires. Just because you've accepted that people close to you will die eventually, it doesn't mean that you'll simply do nothing when you have the chance to prevent it. And there's nothing wrong with that," Ana added seeing how Naruto looked even more dejected after hearing her words, "It's okay to be selfish from time to time. Genji would have died without the experimental procedure. It wasn't your choice to make, it's true, but I can't fault you for that and you shouldn't do it either. You're not perfect and we aren't expecting you to be."

"I know, Ana, but you should have seen him. He reminded me so much of a younger Sasuke," Naruto confessed as he put his head between his hands and his elbows on the counter. His cup of tea laid forgotten on the counter in front of him. "I wanted him to live, but not like this. Not with him having as his sole purpose in life to gain his revenge against his family. His eyes were full of hatred whenever he talked about his brother. I'm afraid I'll just screw up things once more and lose him for good this time."

"Could you tell me more about him?"

Looking up at her, Naruto tilted his head at Ana's question, "Him? Do you mean Genji or his brother?"

"No, I'm not talking about the Shimada. I'm talking about Sasuke." A blond eyebrow quirked up in response and Ana put down her cup on the counter as she fixed her eyes on him, "Genji and Sasuke are two different persons and we both know that. However, as you've just said, there are some similarities between the two of them and it would be stupid of us to simply dismiss them. I really want to help you but I don't know how. Maybe if I knew more about someone who found themselves in the same situation, I would be able to give you a better advice on the matter."

Seeing the logic of her statement, Naruto absently stirred his tea as his mind began to recollect every fact he remembered about Sasuke. Especially what brought him to consider himself an avenger and how he behaved when both of them were still in Team 7. Even if it had been literally ages since those simpler times, Naruto remembered them perfectly.

After clearing his throat, Naruto began to recount his tales as a genin fresh out of the academy to an eager Ana who listened to him attentively, calmly sipping her tea. He really hoped that she was right and the answer to his doubts was hidden in his past. Naruto would do anything possible to not make Genji walk the same path of Sasuke. Even if the two shinobi turned out fine at the end, everything that happened before their final battle was not something that Naruto wanted to repeat. Genji wouldn't have to feel the same despair.

And that was a promise.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** I'm so tired! I'm sorry that it took me so long to post the chapter but University doesn't leave you a lot of free time. Once again, I'm really, really sorry for the long wait but, to be completely honest, school will be always my number one priority. Between studying and writing this fanfiction, studying takes the precedence.

On a happier note, this chapter was something a little different from the rest. I wanted to show that Naruto is not as perfect as he appears. He may be immortal, but he is not some sort of god who never makes a mistake. This time, Naruto is the one who is looking for advice and not the one giving it. I hope he still remained in character… I'm not so sure on some parts. I would have liked to have some more time to check it over and over again – just like I do for every single chapter – but I think that you have waited long enough. Maybe I'll change few things in the future.

Ok, can we talk for a moment about the Halloween event? Have you seen the amazing skins? And the Sombra leaks? Are you kidding me? Now that I don't have a minute free all of this happens?

Blizzard, I love you and hate you so much right now.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 10/18/16**

 **Last Updated: 01/22/17**


	8. Chapter 8 - Leave This to a Professional

**Chapter 8 – Leave This to a Professional**

Rolling in her bed for the umpteenth time, the white cotton sheets twisting even more around her legs, Fareeha let out a sigh as she let her head sunk deeper into the pillow. Her brown eyes swept once more around the room and, after confirming that indeed everything was still exactly the same as she had last saw it just few minutes ago, she fixed her gaze on the ceiling. Out of sheer boredom, her right hand, which was lazily resting on the pillow above her head, began to play with a single strand of hair. The ebony lock softly curling around her finger before untangling itself and repeating the same actions over and over again.

After a few interminable seconds, her head slowly turned on her side, her nose almost disappeared into the fluffy pillow as her eyes eagerly moved toward the bedside clock. The red glowing numbers displayed on the screen were now faintly visible as bright, low rays of morning sunshine poured through the parted curtains washing over her face, momentarily blinding her. Raising her hand, she covered her eyes and was finally able to see clearly the clock.

06:58

A minute. Just a single minute had passed. Her eyebrow twitched as she tried to look on the bright side of things: one down, just two more to go. Unfortunately, that thought wasn't half as reassuring as she wanted it to be. Groaning, she buried her head in the pillow. Why was it so difficult for her to simply relax? She was on a leave. That meant no daily 12-mile run at the crack of dawn, no hellish combat training with brutal instructors, and no chores to do around the military base whose failure to complete on time entailed more of said running and training.

However, just like a good, little soldier, her eyes snapped opened exactly at five am. Her mind and body ready to face a long, hard day of work as her feet unconsciously slipped out of the bed toward the ground while she slowly raised herself into a sitting position. It actually took her a couple of seconds to realise what she was doing. Once she did, though, she forcefully stopped herself from getting out of bed and dragged her body once again back under the sheets. Thankfully, she noticed it before she began to jog around the perimeter of the house like an idiot.

She could already picture the neighbours curiously peering at her through the windows, obviously puzzled by her strange behaviour, before justifying it as just being one of those "Amari's things". Even if they all deeply respected her family for its military past and especially her mother for her role as a member of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis and now as second-in-command of the organisation, Fareeha had to admit that, from an outside prospective, her family could appear to be quite the... unconventional one.

After all, not many kids had members of Overwatch, who were basically considered living legends by the rest of the world, as the occasional babysitter. Even if Naruto had always been her favourite, despite the fact that he scared away every single boy who tried to approach her, she had fond memories of each one of her temporary babysitters.

She couldn't stop the smile forming on her face as she remembered the time some poor kids had quite the unfortunate idea to prank her house when the Reinhardt Wilhelm was her designed babysitter. Having an over 7 feet tall man chasing you around the block while yelling at you in German was probably the worst experience of their lives and something that no one could ever forget. Literally. For years, kids of her neighbourhood asked her mother if the "big, scary, German man" was ever going to come back and several parents used that memory to discipline their children saying that whenever they misbehaved Reinhardt would come and get them during the night.

Yeah, making friends had not been an easy thing to do for her while growing up.

Speaking of her mother, Fareeha strained her ears as she tried to listen for any kind of sound coming from the kitchen downstairs. Her mother would normally be there preparing breakfast by this time and one thing you could always count on regarding soldiers was the rigid routine they followed each and every day. However, when nothing could be heard, her brow furrowed as she slowly sat up in the bed. Ignoring the white sheets pooling in her lap, revealing the simple white tank top she was wearing underneath, Fareeha tucked her tousled hair behind her ears and, with her eyes closed, she focused once more to listen to any noise she may have missed.

Absolute silence. The only sound her ears could catch was the soft rustling of curtains as the cold morning breeze gently blew in through the open window of her room, but certainly nothing from downstairs. Standing up, her hands absently straightened her blue shorts and tried half-heartedly to make her hair somewhat presentable before she gave one last glance at the clock on her bedside table.

07:01

Well, staying in bed until seven in the morning probably wasn't what most people pictured when they thought about sleeping in, but if she had to stay even one more second on that mattress doing absolute nothing she would not be held responsible for what was going to happen next. It was widely known that whenever Fareeha was feeling bored her mind often drifted back to her favourite hobby which usually included the destruction of several objects around her.

Naruto's gift for her 6th birthday was still the best present she had ever received and something that several people around her learnt to hate. Especially when they found themselves on the receiving end of a flick of her wrist. For weeks her fellow soldiers, after seeing what the "girly" bracelet she had on was actually capable of, threw themselves on the ground whenever she pointed her right hand at them. Even when she was not wearing said bracelet. Fareeha had to admit that it was slightly amusing seeing trained soldiers cowering at the mere sight of some jewellery. Maybe even a little bit more than just slightly.

Furthermore, what really convinced her to get out of bed was the fact that her mother wasn't already awake. She was quite curious to see what exactly caused the veteran soldier to alter her routine. That was quite the rare event. Even after weeks long missions, Ana somehow always found the energy to keep going and return to her daily life like nothing had happened. For once, the daughter was going to wake the mother up. Maybe she could even prepare her some breakfast. Whatever happened to cause this change was probably something serious and she wanted to help her in any way possible.

Nodding to herself at the idea, Fareeha walked down the stairs with a spring in her step as she moved toward the kitchen. A loud snore coming from the couch in the living room put a sudden stop to her plans for the morning. Slowly turning her head, she stealthily approached the location of the sound to investigate its origin. Careful to not make a single noise, she tiptoed toward her destination and held her breath as she peered over the back of the couch.

Years of physical and mental training could have not prepared her for what her eyes were seeing.

Her mother and uncle Naruto were sleeping on the couch.

Together.

The blond shinobi was laying on his back. His mouth open and a little bit of droll glistening along the side of his scruffy jaw as his long legs dangled over the armrest. His arms were lazily encircling Ana's waist who was quite peacefully, Fareeha noted, sleeping on top of him with her face pressed into his chest. Both of them were still fully clothed – her mother was wearing the same sleepwear she had on when she had last saw her the previous night and Naruto a simple orange shirt with black jeans under his trench coat – so, definitely, nothing had happened between the two of them during the night.

Fareeha mentally let out a sigh of relief at that thought. It wasn't that she was against a possible romantic relationship between her mother and Naruto, it was actually something that she had always wished since she was a child, but she really didn't want to see her mother in that particular compromising position. They weren't that open to one another on that subject and Fareeha highly doubted they would ever be.

Returning to the matter at hand, her eyes drifted downwards again toward the couch and they met the drowsy gaze of the shinobi who was just waking up. Blinking a couple of times to restore his blurry sight, Naruto first looked down at the sleeping Ana on top of his chest and then up at Fareeha standing perfectly still behind the couch. After bringing a finger up to his lips, stopping the young woman before she could say anything, he slowly stood up from the couch while gently holding Ana in his arms. He carefully, almost reverently, laid her back down on the sofa and, once assured he didn't wake her up, he nodded his head toward the front door silently beckoning Fareeha to follow him.

When both of them were far enough away from the living room, Naruto warmly greeted her, his voice a few tones lower than normal not wanting to disturb Ana resting in the other room, "Morning princess. How are you enjoying your first military leave?"

"It's surprisingly more difficult than I first imagined it would be," Fareeha honestly confessed, her voice just as low, before she shook her head and lightly jabbed his finger into his chest. "Don't try to change the subject," she whispered to him as she leaned closer, her eyes occasionally drifting back toward the living room, "What was that?"

Naruto followed her gaze and his shoulders slumped somewhat in response. "Genji woke up and things didn't go very well," passing a hand over his face, he removed the last vestiges of sleep before, feeling reinvigorated, he continued, "I needed some advice and your mother has been really helpful. I came over in the middle of the night and we talked until dawn so let her sleep this morning. She deserves that."

"Ok. Is there anything I can do to help you? Perhaps I could make you a cup of coffee or tea?" she offered hesitantly.

Smiling gently at her, he shook his head, "No, thank you. I'm actually going to leave in a few minutes. I have a plan worked out for Genji and I want to talk to Jack and Gabriel as soon as possible to hear what they think about it. It's going to involve both of them and, even if we are obviously going to tweak few things, I think it's pretty solid overall."

"Jack and Gabriel…" Fareeha muttered to herself before she looked at Naruto with a deadpan expression, "Genji is going to join Overwatch, isn't he?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted his head to the side. "Well… yes?" he affirmed, his voice sounding unsure seeing the annoyance now etched on her face.

"Are you kidding me? Why do people simply need to stroll into the headquarters to be accepted into the organisation while for me it seems almost an impossible thing to do?" she whined lowly as she dropped her head.

Chuckling, Naruto awkwardly patted the top of her head before putting the hand on her shoulder. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he had to crouch down in order to do so, while now she was less than a foot shorter than him. "Genji's situation is kind of a particular case but, if you really want it so much, I could always talk with Jack about it. I can't promise you anything but, at least, he's going to listen to me."

Her head snapped back up, hair swinging wildly around her by the sudden movement, as her eyes widened in surprise. "You would?" she asked him flabbergasted, only to receive a shrug of his shoulders in response. Closing her eyes, she thought about his proposition but it didn't take her too long to find the answer. "No, when I'm going to join Overwatch I want it to be only thanks to my merits and nothing else. I appreciate the offer but it just wouldn't be the same if you simply gave it to me without any kind of effort on my part."

"Good answer," Naruto confirmed his statement with a firm and satisfied nod of his head as he crossed his arms over his chest while leaning his back against the door behind him, "Speaking of joining Overwatch, is everything alright between you and Ana? Have you two discussed about it?"

"Yes, we have. Mom still doesn't want me to join the organisation but at least now she understands why it's so important for me. She has even offered me to train me again, occasionally though. She doesn't want it to interfere with my military life. Since I'm determined on my decision she wants me to be ready for everything," Fareeha told him, relief evident in her voice. Her brown eyes narrowed imperceptibly as she continued, "She also told me about your plan to have one of your clones to constantly follow me around. Really?"

Grinning sheepishly, Naruto nervously scratched the back of his neck as his other hand slowly creeped toward the knob of the door, "It was just an idea, princess. I was simply thinking about what was the best for you. I swear it. Now I really have to go so… spend time with your mother, thank her for me once again and I'll see you both of you again in a couple of days. Have a nice day princess."

"Sure, same to you. Bye uncle Naruto," Fareeha snickered as she saw the blond shinobi fretfully scrambling away, rushing through the empty morning streets, and occasionally sending her a nervous smile before disappearing behind a building. After one last giggle, she closed the front door and walked back into the living room. Upon first entering the room, she was surprised to see her mother wide awake waiting for her silently sitting on the couch while slowly massaging her temples.

As she stood next to her, Fareeha gave her a sceptical look, "Are you sure you should be already up? Uncle Naruto has just told me that you basically didn't sleep at all last night. If you're worried about breakfast you really shouldn't be. I'm a big girl, you know?"

"Losing just a few hours of sleep isn't enough to stop me. You know that," Ana responded waving her hand dismissively at her daughter as she stood up from the couch, "You talked about breakfast and I can see that it's already terribly late. Since you're a big girl you can help me to prepare it."

With her mouth slightly agape, Fareeha watched her mother dust off her clothes and move into the kitchen, her steps firm and sure as if she hadn't just woken up after a long, sleepless night. "Are we really not going to talk about what happened in the living room just few minutes ago? How you were basically cuddling with uncle Naruto?" Fareeha asked, both confused and annoyed, as she followed her into the kitchen. Why every adult always had to change the subject from what was really important? Breakfast? She wanted to talk about breakfast now?

"We weren't cuddling. We talked until late into the night and fell asleep on the couch. Nothing else happened," Ana explained with an even voice, not once stopping from pulling out of the cupboards the various kitchen utensils she needed to prepare the morning meal, "I don't know why you act so scandalised. Naruto and I are close friends, it's not a secret. Could you please pass me some eggs?"

Rolling her eyes, Fareeha opened the refrigerator door. "Does that mean that I can also fall asleep on top of my friends? I'm sure that the boys back at the base will love to hear that," she sarcastically commented as she placed a carton of eggs on the counter.

Ana glanced at her daughter from the corner of her eyes, a smirk forming on her lips. "Once you've known them from more than sixteen years then yes."

"You can't be serious!" the younger Amari finally exclaimed with the most bewildered look on her face, "I heard about being in denial but you and uncle Naruto redefine the very meaning of this concept. They should probably put the relationship between the two of you on the dictionary next to the word by now."

"Fareeha, don't go there. The relationship between Naruto and I is… complicated," Ana warned her daughter, her voice sounding both stern but oddly sombre. Letting out a tired sigh, she stopped preparing breakfast and turned fully toward Fareeha, "I know what you wish would happen between the two of us – yes, you're not half as sneaky as you think you are, honey – but I honestly don't know if we are ever going to be something more than just very good friends. Not until Naruto is not ready for that type of relationship."

"Uncle Naruto is the problem?" Fareeha asked her confused, her annoyance over having her childish wish discovered completely forgotten.

Shaking her head, Ana struggled to find the right words as she turned once more toward the stove, "He is not the problem. There isn't any kind of problem. He simply doesn't want to get hurt again. I don't consider myself an expert on his behaviour, but I know him well enough to not push him on this subject."

Fareeha recollected every memory she had of Naruto however, she couldn't understand what her mother was saying. They sounded like they were talking about two different people. "But he always seems so happy..."

"And he is, I'm not denying that. He has friends, students and even the occasional fling. But falling in love?" Ana rhetorically questioned with a wistful smile on her face, "I'm not sure when he'll be ready for that but I'm not holding my breath and you shouldn't either. He's convinced that all the happiness he may feel while he's in love would only turn in pain and sorrow in the future once that person will inevitably die and I can't blame him for thinking like that. He has already suffered a lot…"

All of the sudden Fareeha hugged her from behind, her arms around her waist and her face pressed into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, mom."

Ana patted her daughter's hands resting on her stomach as she let out a single chuckle, "What are you apologizing for? It's no one's fault. It's simply the way things are. I accepted it many years ago and I can assure you that I don't spend several sleepless nights thinking about it. If Naruto and I will be nothing more than friends, I can honestly say that I'm completely fine with that. Besides, I'm not the only one who should feel sad about it. Weren't you the one who wanted to marry him? Mrs. Fareeha Uzumaki?"

Puffing her cheeks, Fareeha glared at her, "I was ten years old! You can't use what happened then against me. Back then I also wanted a real life Gundam suit."

"I'm your mother. Not only I can do that, I must do that. It's basically my duty," Ana evenly responded as a pensive look formed on her face, "Now that I think about it, I've never met any of your fellow recruits and I have so many stories about my little Fareeha that I want to tell them. Let me remember – how did you put it? Oh, right. I'm sure that the boys back at the base will love to hear that."

"Mom!"

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"We were already planning to do that."

"… what?" Naruto breathed out hearing Jack's words. His gaze dull and unmoving, fixed on the form of the Overwatch Strike-Commander who was seating on the chair behind his desk, as the blond shinobi slowly articulated his following question, "Are you telling me that I spent the past ten minutes describing to you the plan I came up with last night – a long, hard, sleepless night spent reminiscing the darkest memories of my past, if I may add – just to hear you saying that you were already going to do it?"

Jack sent a pleading look to Gabriel, but the Blackwatch Commander openly ignored him as he calmly sat in front of him. A weak smile formed on the blond's face while he tried to pacify his teacher, "Well, Genji Shimada is the second son of the last head of the Shimada clan. When you brought him into our headquarters, Gabriel and I immediately realised his potential as an… ally against the organised crime present in Japan. We were going to ask him to join Overwatch, if not as an agent at least as an informer. That wasn't, of course, the first thing that came to our minds–"

"Speak for yourself…"

"Gabriel, you're not helping!" Jack harshly whispered to his fellow commander who apathetically stared back at him. Closing his eyes, the blond soldier took a deep breath and, after gathering his thoughts, he resumed his speech, "In fact, we wouldn't have acted behind your back. We were simply waiting for the best moment to bring up the subject to you however, these past few weeks hadn't been optimal for such a discussion. Genji Shimada only woke up yesterday and we are still both surprised that you wanted to talk about his possible recruitment so soon. Now that we know that you approve of this idea, we can act on it."

"I don't know whether to feel proud or annoyed by your behaviour." Puffing his chest, Naruto smirked in self-satisfaction, "I guess I really am a great teacher. My students know what I want to do even before I know it!"

Letting out a snort, Gabriel rolled his neck as he pointed his thumb at Jack, "What the boy scout is trying to say is that your moping freaked us out and we had no idea on what to do with you. I'm glad to see that phase of your life is finally over, by the way. It was really depressing to see. Now, speaking of more important things, there's something I want to clarify about your plan. Why don't you want the Shimada kid to join Blackwatch?"

"I'm not saying he should never join your division, Gabriel, just not right now," Naruto clarified his suggestion as he passed a hand through his hair, "I don't think that currently Genji has the mental toughness to handle a typical Blackwatch's mission. His mind is mostly focused on his revenge against his clan, which I'm sure he'll have to face in the future, but as of now you would never send someone like him out on the field. Besides, I want him to interact with the various agents of Overwatch. I want him to realise that he's not as alone as he thinks he is and sending him on covert operation after covert operation is not going to help him to achieve that. Overwatch is going to both help him to relieve part of his frustration and offer him a sense of comradery. He'll join Blackwatch only once he'll be ready to face his family and I'm actually entrusting you, Gabriel, to decided when that moment will be."

After pondering his response for a few minutes, Gabriel gave Naruto a nod as he leaned back into his chair, "Fair enough, I'll wait my turn to have the green cyborg ninja dude on my team. Until then, Jack can have it." At the deadpanned expression present on the faces of both blondes, Gabriel raised an eyebrow, "What? I call them as I see them."

"Anyway, I'm glad that you're here because there's one other thing that we need to discuss," Jack changed the subject from the awkward ending of the previous conversation to a more important matter as his gaze shifted back to Naruto, "It's about someone who is already an Overwatch agent but I think that you should know about it too. He's probably going to be here any minute now."

As if his words summoned him, someone knocked in that moment at the door of Jack's office. At the Commander's invitation to come inside, the door opened revealing Winston behind it who, once he respectfully greeted each person present inside of the room, stood perfectly still in front of the desk and asked at the blond seating behind it, "Good morning, Commander Morrison. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not this time, Winston. I actually called you because I recently received some news which you may want to hear," Jack said to him as he took a deep breath, "It's about the Horizon Lunar Colony."

The gorilla's jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he remembered the fate of his natal home. "Please, continue."

"When the accident happened, Overwatch, as many other organisations, investigated on the matter. Everyone wanted to know the cause of it and while we were led to believe that the blame resided in a series of unfortunate circumstances, that may no longer be the case." Winston fists tightened and his nostrils faintly flared, but Jack continued, "Our IT department found a digital trace which originated from outside of the network of Lucheng Interstellar and directly targeted the central operating system of the entire lunar colony."

"Someone voluntarily freed the gorillas which were used as test subject," Winston concluded under his breath, his brain still trying to process this new information about his home and every possible theory deriving from it. He always had his doubts about the accident. So many coincidences had to happen to let the gorillas escape from their confinements but he had never imagined his conjectures would actually have some truth in them. "Do we have any clue on who could possibly be behind it?"

This time, Gabriel decided to respond at the question, "Gérard Lacroix was the one who first noticed the foreign data present in the servers of the lunar colony. And we all know whose business our dear French geek love to snoop around the most."

"The same mysterious organisation that is helping the ALF? It's involved in this too?" Naruto questioned surprised. That group evolved from aiding a small terrorist group to successfully sabotage a billion-dollar project of one of the biggest companies in the world. If it wasn't so prone on world's destruction, he would be impressed by its work.

Standing up from his chair, Jack moved in front of the desk. "We do believe that the two are connected, yes. Winston," the blond addressed the primate who looked up at him, "I know that this is an upsetting news for you and if you need some time to reflect on it, someone to talk to or anything else, please tell us. We're here for you."

After a long pause, Winston gulped loudly, his knuckles and hind legs fidgeting, as he tried to find the courage to make his request, "Actually, there is something that I wanted to ask you for some time and this may be as good a moment as any to do it. I was thinking to take the test to become an operative agent."

All the three men present were surprised by his request, a blond Commander pleasantly so. "You want to go out on the field?"

Nodding at Jack's question, Winston felt relieved that his request wasn't immediately denied. One hand went to his eyes, gently taking off his glasses. As he studied them attentively, his mind went back to the man they belonged to. The man to whom he owed everything. "I don't want to simply see and study the world around me for what it is. I want to be an active part of it," Winston said putting his glass back on and pushing them up his nose, "I joined Overwatch because its members are changing the world. Turning it into something different – something better. I want to be part of this changing. Leave my mark outside of a laboratory."

"Gabriel?" Jack questioned his friend, wanting to know his opinion on the subject.

Looking at his friend's blue pleading eyes, Gabriel already knew that Jack would accept only one possible answer from him. God, being his friend for so long made him soft. "I honestly I don't care one bit because he's going to be your problem. He's definitely not going to join my division. A giant gorilla is kind of difficult to justify during a covert operation."

As he stiffly crossed his arms over his chest, Gabriel felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lips while a mischievous plan formed in his mind. "You know what? Now that I think about it, it's actually a great idea," he commented as his smirk increased, "It's such a great idea that I think Naruto should take him under his wing."

"Are you sure Gabriel? I really don't think that's necessary," Jack nervously commented as his eyes constantly moved between the two people and one gorilla in front of him, "Don't you remember how Naruto trained us?"

Almost purring, Gabriel looked at the confused gorilla, "Oh, believe me. I perfectly remember."

"If Reyes believes that Naruto should be the one to train me I have no complaints. I'm ready to work to earn my position." Seeing the apologetic look Jack was giving him, Winston realised that probably it would have been better if he had simply stopped talking. But, unfortunately, it was too late now.

A firm hand clamped down on his shoulder as Naruto grinned at him, his cheeks stretched into a wide smile. His eyes were basically squinting down at him, the eyelids hiding the glint of playfulness in his blue orbs. "Well, that's what I like to hear. Hopefully you're going to keep that attitude for more than just a couple lessons with me because, right now, you're stuck with me. Whether you like it or not." Squeezing Winston tighter against his chest, Naruto gained a pensive look before smiling at his newest student once more, "Maybe I'll even convince Genji-kun to join us sometimes. If he thinks that being a cyborg makes him an outcast, I have no idea what a talking gorilla should consider himself."

Said talking gorilla had only one single thought in his mind as he stared at the beaming blond standing next to him.

What did he get himself into?

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Long Author note:** Here we have another chapter! Hope you enjoyed it.

A guest asked me why Naruto wasn't able to heal Genji. Excellent question. Now, I know that Naruto basically turned into Jesus once he received Hagoromo's Yang Chakra and I said, quite explicitly, that I wasn't going to nerf Naruto just to write a more compelling story. So I didn't do that but I actually gave a reason why Naruto isn't able to heal humans in the Overwatch universe. Now I realise it wasn't that obvious, probably I should have emphasised it more so, here it is.

In chapter 6, Angela said that Naruto is the only being in the world who can safely handle the influx of chakra. It's true that Naruto healed Shikamaru, Kakashi, Sasuke in canon but they all were shinobi with a perfectly developed Chakra Systems. Humans in the Overwatch universe are like Rock Lee just one thousand times worse. Yeah, their chakra is that terrible.

If Naruto's chakra is the Amazon River, Genji is a plastic kiddie pool. If Naruto tried to heal him with his chakra he probably would have killed him simply because his Chakra System would overload. On the other hand, when Naruto connected his chakra with Angela to make her feel the emotions of all the people in the world, he didn't "inject" chakra into her. He simply connected their chakra to one another and Naruto was the bridge.

Now, are all these just a bunch of excuses I created to justify Genji cyberization. Absolutely. Do they make the least amount of sense? I hope so.

Genji transformation into a cyborg is necessary for the story. I wanted to show that while this Naruto is extremely wise he is not perfect and the entire Genji accident allowed me to explore different aspects of our favourite blond shinobi that I wouldn't have been able to describe otherwise.

On an unrelated news, I posted my second fanfiction on this website. A Naruto X RWBY crossover. I know, I complain about not having enough free time so I decide to start a new fanfiction. Don't you worry, I'm not going to abandon this one. As Torbjörn would say, this is my baby! You know, don't tell it to the other guys, but you are my favourites. You at least waited a couple of chapters before start wondering about the pairing. The other guys? From the beginning! I thought I escaped this nightmare… Who am I kidding? I will never escape horny teenagers xD.

If you have never heard about RWBY I strongly advise you to watch it, just look it up on Youtube. It's all there. I don't even care if you don't read my fanfiction afterwards. Just watch it, you're not going to regret it. Well, you're probably going to hate a certain episode but you're just going to do like every other fan of the show did. Just keep repeating to yourselves these five magical words.

Nothing. Bad. Ever. Happened. Ever. Nora, you're just pure gold.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 10/28/16**

 **Last Updated: 11/11/16**


	9. Chapter 9 - Are You Scared?

**Chapter 9 – Are You Scared?**

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Dashing to the side, one hand steadily planted to the ground and the other holding his katana, Genji avoided his opponent's attack. The soft yet high-pitched chittering sound generated by the weapon sailing above his head almost seemed to assume a tone of displeasure as it missed its intended target. Either way, Genji didn't waste time in celebrating his perfectly executed dodge. He knew that simply avoiding the direct blow was not enough in this situation. Unlike him, Winston didn't need to perfectly aim at his enemy in order to score a hit.

After steading his legs, Genji blinked once and, all of the sudden, found himself on the other side of the room. A bright green luminous trail stretched out behind him, remaining visible in the air for a few heartbeats before slowly disappearing. Out of the corner of his eyes, Genji looked back at Winston whose dark eyes followed the trail and narrowed in concentration when they fixed on the figure of the ninja. Once again neither of them had scored a decisive blow.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Winston was the perfect sparring partner for him, of that Genji was sure. While the ninja was faster, more experienced and more skilled about fighting than the scientist, he definitely wasn't smarter than him. He didn't feel any kind of shame at admitting that. After all, Winston was a super-intelligent, genetically engineered gorilla. He was supposed to be smart. You could probably count the people in the world as smart or smarter than him on one hand, with most likely some fingers to spare. But him having a higher IQ was not the problem. The problem was what his higher IQ allowed him to create.

The Tesla Cannon.

Thousands of volts ready to latch at any target in the vicinity of the weapon at a moment's notice. There was no need to aim or even see your enemy – you simply had to flex your finger and pull the trigger in order to stop whoever you deemed being too close for your own taste. Winston had found the perfect counter for Genji's superior speed. The fact that before he had constructed that particular weapon the gorilla was constantly battered around by the ninja during their spars apparently was a motivation strong enough to make him find or, in this case, create a solution to the problem.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Since Genji wasn't moving, Winston decided to be the one to initiate the attack. Possibly hoping to catch him by surprise. The young Shimada wasn't so easy to fool, though. Even if he wasn't honestly expecting such a bold move from his sparring partner – considering he was never the first to attack – he was more than ready to defend himself. He fought the urge to shake his head in disappointment as he saw Winston charging him. The few advantages granted by his chosen weapon were completely useless in this situation.

His attack was, to describe it in one simple word, predictable. Genji already knew when, where and how Winston was going to attack him from the moment the gorilla first flexed his muscles. This knowledge didn't come from Genji's superior battle experience, on the contrary, what Winston was doing was something that he had never seen before on the battlefield – a textbook attack.

There was no drive, no originality, nothing that distinguished his movement from how this attack was described on many of the various combat manuals that Winston undeniably had extensively read during the past few weeks. Unfortunately for him, the super-intelligent gorilla missed the most glaring problem of this strategy. Textbook attacks always worked… in theory. In practice, on the other hand, there were so many different factors influencing the fight that a book couldn't give you the perfect answer which considered all of them.

Genji himself had to learn this the hard way. Apparently, he was going to teach the same lesson to his sparring partner.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

With a flick of his wrist, three shuriken appeared between his fingers and, immediately after, flew through the air. As Winston raised his arm to protected himself from the projectiles, Genji seized the opportunity and rushed forward. Using the bracer on his arm as a shield was a good plan but, in doing so, the scientist completely lost view of his target for a few moments. And that was all Genji needed.

Expertly twirling the katana in his hand, Genji hit Winston's right wrist with the hilt of his sword and, once the gorilla let go of his weapon, he followed with a swift kick to the downed gun. To the ears of the ninja there was no sweeter sound than hearing the Tesla Cannon crashing into the wall far away from its creator. It wasn't broken – that damn cannon was going to haunt him for many years to come – but for the remaining of the spar Genji was sure that it wasn't going to be used again.

In that moment both of them knew that the spar was basically over and Winston's following punch didn't change this fact in the slightest. Rolling to the side, Genji ducked under the swing and, after spinning back, found himself staring at the helpless back of his opponent. Without a second of hesitation, he raised his katana high above his head and aimed it at a slight downward angle. The point of the blade gently pressed against the back of the head of the gorilla, ready to pierce his skin.

"I think that's enough for today."

At Naruto's words, Genji immediately put the katana back into the sheath strapped to his back and straightened his posture. As he turned his body to face his sensei, who was overseeing the spar while leaning against one of the wall of the room, his gaze flicked over his sparring partner. Winston was panting, heavily. His posture was slightly slouched as he took long, deep breaths, trying to bring his heart rate down, while he waited to hear Naruto's corrections.

Unbidden Genji's eyes, hidden behind his white and green visor, moved down to his own chest which was rising and falling slowly and regularly. His own heartbeat was calm and steady and he couldn't feel any sweat pricking his skin or muscles aching. A part of him wanted to believe that the reason why he didn't show any sign of strain was only because he far outclassed Winston's fighting abilities. Not because he was a cyborg whose majority of physiological mechanisms were controlled through a program not dissimilarly from a computer.

Even something as stupid as breathing reminded him what he had lost. What his family had taken from him.

"Both of you are improving," Naruto commented as he leisurely walked toward his two students. Both of his hands tucked inside the pockets of his dark trench coat. "Genji, your movement are getting more and more fluid each and every day. I'm sure that in a couple of weeks you are going to perfect your dash. I suggest trying to reduce the time it takes you to execute it before focusing on anything else. Winston, your reflexes are becoming faster and I noticed only minor errors in your forms. Now, you only need to keep fighting until those movements don't become a second nature to you. Once you'll have all your bases covered, I'm going to teach you, and I mean both of you, something new."

"We could continue," Genji curtly suggested. He still wasn't used to the sound of his own voice and always tried to speak as little as possible. Sometimes, he didn't utter a single word for days before his sensei found a way to make him talk.

Tilting his head, Naruto pondered on Genji's word for a moment before stretching out his bandaged hand toward the other student standing in front of him. "We could, but I have the feeling that he might disagree with you."

"I can go on," Winston wheezed out as he tried and failed to stand up straight. The sound of his heavy breaths filled the room.

"Winston, I truly appreciate your dedication but you really shouldn't force yourself." Offering him a bottle of water, Naruto looked down at the panting gorilla with a proud smile on his face, "Being tired after sparring uninterruptedly for five hours is perfectly normal. If you continue, I'm afraid that you're just going to hurt yourself. Don't let your enthusiasm cloud your judgment."

At last, Winston finally relented and lazily plopped down on the ground. Bringing the bottle slowly to his lips, he guzzled down half its contents in one long sip before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Glad to see that Winston listened to his words, Naruto addressed Genji, "The same goes for you. Even if your body doesn't feel tired, you still need to rest. Angela warned me that you could accidentally overstrain yourself physically since you no longer know or are able to feel your own limit."

Fidgeting on the spot, Genji debated with himself whether or not to discuss the matter further. Maybe he could convince Naruto to continue the training for a little while longer. In the end, he gave a terse, resigned nod of his head, realising that the entire conversation simply would have been a complete waste of time. With a stiff bow, he silently excused himself and swiftly walked toward the exit. He was ready to shut himself inside his room, perhaps spend a couple of hours working on his blade, when Naruto's casual tone stopped him mid stride, "There's the Halloween party tonight. Everyone would love to see you there, even just for five minutes. It's a sort of tradition. Even Gabriel is going to come."

A noncommittal nod was the only answer he received before Genji walked out of the door. "You know that he is not going to come, right? I won't go because I can't move a muscle after this spar, but I don't think that Genji has the same excuse as me. Every time he's invited to an event with more than four people present he never attends. Now that I think about it, he comes out of his room only for training," Winston said between sips.

Heaving a sigh, Naruto sat cross legged on the ground in front of his remaining and much more talkative student, "I know, that doesn't mean that I'll stop asking him though. Maybe one day he'll surprise me and accept my invitation." His eyes sparkled with mirth as a cheeky grin played from his lips. "Besides, I heard that I can be quite persistent when I want to. So, you never know."

Winston chuckled at Naruto's rather reductive description of his personality, "Yeah, just _quite_ persistent. So, I presume you want to talk to me about something? Usually by this time you are dragging me halfway across the headquarters towards my room."

"Your last attack," Naruto immediately responded. "During the majority of the spar you were only defending yourself and you managed to hold your ground quite well thanks to your Tesla Cannon. However, the moment you switched to offensive and especially when you lost your weapon, you were almost instantly defeated. I had my doubts for some time but only then, when I saw you attack, I realised what exactly was the problem. Do you know why Genji predicted so easily your move?"

"Fighting experience?" Winston guessed.

"No. Genji, literally, already knew what you were going to do." Seeing that his words only confused Winston more, Naruto went on, "You perfectly executed a textbook attack. Nothing more, nothing less. That's fine if you are fighting against someone who has no clue on how to throw a punch but if your opponent knows the bases of hand to hand combat then you're screwed. When you don't have better skills, you can only improvise in order to surprise your adversary and score a hit. But that's the real problem, isn't it? Switch off your brain for a moment and follow your instinct."

"I'm a scientist. I follow my brain, not my instinct," Winston affirmed in a tone both proud and faintly defensive.

Humming to himself, Naruto leaned back. Both hands planted on the ground behind him and his head tilted back so his eyes were fixed on the ceiling. "And that is your choice… or are you scared? Scared of how you would behave if you followed your instincts and not your brain." Forcing his head back off the white plain ceiling, Naruto stared at Winston before casually continuing, "After all, you know better than anyone else what happens when a genetically engineered gorilla lets its instincts run wild."

"That was just a single case," Winston once more rebutted defensively. He knew very well what the blond was doing and he didn't like it one bit. "Besides, we recently discovered that an outside interference caused the accident in the Horizon Lunar Colony. Mr. Lacroix confirmed that to us. One uncertain episode isn't enough to make an accurate guess."

Naruto conceded a point to him. "It's true. Someone freed the gorillas from their cages but what happened next, what they did to the scientists on the colony, that was merely them. No outside interference."

Gulping loudly, Winston was finally able to call upon his voice only after few long minutes. His tone sounded feeble and defeated. "I'm nothing like them."

"I know."

"They were monsters who held no value for the human life."

"I know."

"I'm different."

"I know." With a heavy sigh, Naruto gave him a soft smile. His cerulean eyes full of understanding and support. "Winston, nobody is accusing you to be any of this things. We all trust you. The real question is: do you trust yourself? Because if you don't have the answer to this question then, no matter how much time you're going to spend training, you'll never be able to become an operative agent of Overwatch. After all, if you can't trust yourself, how can the other agents with you on the field do it?"

An excruciatingly long silence followed his question. Winston's gaze was fixed upon the ground, unable to look up at Naruto who was patiently waiting for him to recollect his thoughts and hear his response. Of course the blond had to talk about this subject. He just had to ask the questions that haunted him since he first left the colony on the moon. Winston closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. As always, Naruto found the heart of the problem and tackled it with the grace of a sledgehammer. For a ninja, he could be incredibly unsubtle when he wanted to.

"How can Overwatch trust me?" Winston finally wondered aloud, breaking the silence. "I can't honestly understand how all of you are so sure that I won't suddenly attack you." After a short, bitter, self-deprecating laugh, Winston clenched his fist and glared down at them. "The truth is that, as a scientist, I'm too much aware of how similar I am to those… other gorillas. Logically, there's actually nothing that differentiates me from them. We both went through the same treatments and grew up in the same place. That's why I fight with my brain. I'm afraid I may behave like them because, no matter how many time I tell myself that I'm different, I know that, unfortunately, it's not the truth."

A muffled laugh disguised as a snort escaped his lips as Naruto rolled his eyes, "That must be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. And I've lived for a very long time so I've heard my fair share of idiotic arguments but this definitely takes the cake." Winston had no idea whether to feel relieved or annoyed by Naruto's dismissal. His thoughts were interrupted by a pair of fingers poking him in the middle of his forehead. "You may be smart but sometimes you miss the most obvious things."

"You want to know why we trust you?" Naruto asked him with a sincere smile on his face, "It's because we know you, Winston. We know that you are our friend and a vital part of Overwatch. But, most importantly, it's because you trust us. This sentiment is a part of you just as much as your 'animal instincts' are. That's what makes you different from the other gorillas of the colony. Your DNA doesn't determine who you are, your experiences and feelings do. Letting yourself go won't put us in danger."

Fixing his glasses up on his nose, Winston shyly raised his head from the ground. "What if I hurt somebody?"

"What happened on the Horizon Lunar Colony was a tragedy, but those gorillas upraised against the scientists because that was what they wanted to do. Not because they were genetically programmed to behave like that. If you always remember the reason why you're here – why you're fighting – then you'll never purposely hurt someone. Using your gut and not your brain during a fight won't make you a threat. On the contrary, I believe that only by doing that you can be truly strong." Naruto gained a wistful smile as his mind reminisced to the time he had first heard those words and learnt the meaning of true strength.

After all these years he still had no idea if Haku was indeed a boy or a girl. Thoughts for another time. Playfully punching Winston on the shoulder, Naruto concluded, "Of course you'll have to train with me first, big guy. I'm not going to send you on the field without seeing what you're capable of first."

Winston couldn't help but reciprocate the smile present on the blond face, his own lips curving upwards slightly. He still had some doubts about fighting while following his instincts, but he felt definitely better after this conversation. If someone was able to help him, that was definitely Naruto. "Dr Harold Winston was the first one to believe in me. I think you two would've gotten along. You remind me of him a little."

"I'm glad to hear that. I heard he was a great man," Naruto agreed with him and nodded his head at the glasses on Winston's face. "Those were his, right?"

"Yes, they were. Even after he gave to me my own personal pair of glasses I kept stealing his because I knew he would always offer me a jar of peanut butter in exchange." Winston shoulders shook with mirth at the memory. "One time I stole and hid the glasses of every scientist on the colony. Dr Winston had to ask for a special delivery of a shuttle full of peanut butter in order to get them back from me. I'm sure that the guys of the Lucheng Interstellar back on Earth were quite confused by that request. I remember when…"

As Winston began to tell Naruto about the time he had spent on the Horizon Lunar Colony, the blond listened in silence. His head nodding along and a small smile playing on his lips, not wanting to interrupt him. This was the first time that Winston talked about his past with such an upbeat tone. Usually, when asked about his life before Overwatch, he only curtly described what happened during the accident or his swift escape from the satellite before changing the subject. He was never one to reminiscence about the past, not even the good memories.

Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall and then looking back at Winston, Naruto knew that he was probably going to be a little late for the Halloween party but he honestly wasn't bothered much by that. Hopefully Ana remembered to keep aside some candies for him. Should he sent a clone just to be sure?

Nah, after all Winston wasn't going to talk for hours. That'd be absurd.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"The great Naruto-sama has finally arrived. The party can begin!"

Announcing his presence with a yell, Naruto flung the door open with a kick and stood tall on the threshold. His arms wide open and a beaming smile stretched all the way across his face, making his eyes squint. He was hastily wrapped from head to toe in white bandages, the very same he daily used to cover his prosthetic arm. While he knew that the mummy costume wasn't the most original choice for a Halloween party, it was the only one which required little time and resources. At least he didn't have to use toilet paper.

Naruto would have loved to prepare a more elaborate costume but, unfortunately, didn't have the time to do so. Who knew that Winston would talk for hours on end?

Few seconds passed and, instead of hearing the chorus of greetings he was expecting, only a startled yelp followed by the sound of a wooden stick hitting the floor reached his ears. Opening his eyes, he finally looked at the common room where the Halloween party was supposed to be and his beaming smile turned into a frown. A party definitely had happened in here but it ended a long time ago.

Some decorations were still present, a couple of paper bats were hanging from the ceiling, and the distinctive but faint smell of smoke that lingered in the air was justified by the few jack-o'-lanterns scattered around the room. Less than half of them were lit and the flickering flames from the few candles still burning casted a warm orange glow over the room. On the window sill, an empty bowl of punch rested discarded, surrounded by drinking glasses stained by a few drops of a strange green liquid. The only trace that remained of the beverage that once filled them.

Angela, the only other person present beside himself, was standing perfectly still in the centre of the room, garbed in a witch costume, while a broom laid on the floor at her feet. Her hands clasped over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart, and eyes wide open as she looked at Naruto.

Bringing a hand to his face, Naruto loosened the bandages wrapped around his head and looked around him with watering eyes. "Am I too late? Aw man, I was sure I could make it in time!"

Angela bit her lip, stifling the urge to giggle, as she stared at the immortal shinobi. The shock she had felt at his sudden arrival turned into pure amusement as she saw him pouting. His bottom lip was even trembling! After clearing her throat – and putting herself together – she pointed at the cabinet behind her and began to talk once she gained his attention, "The party is over but Ana told me that she had left something for you in there. Hopefully, it'll make you feel bett–"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence that Naruto zipped past her toward the cabinet and reappeared on the couch with a bag full of candies on his lap. His previous sour mood forgotten, he eagerly rubbed his hands together before happily munching sweet after sweet with a content smile on his face as Angela had to, once again, hold back her giggles.

"You know, you shouldn't eat too much candies," the doctor kindly lectured him, bending down to pick up the broom at her feet, which she had dropped when Naruto scared the living daylights out of her with his exuberant entrance. "Large amounts of sugar contributes to insulin resistance, which can cause diabetes."

Naruto blinked a couple of times before giving her a blank stare. "Do you honestly think that I can suffer from diabetes? Me? The dude who is living for centuries?"

A soft shade of pink dusted her cheeks, grasping the absurdity of her statement, and she went back to sweep her floor. "Right, sorry. Professional deformation."

"Wait, if the party is over then why are you still here?" Naruto blurted out as he finally really noticed her presence. Realising what he had said, he was quick to add, "I mean, not that I mind! I just hope the others didn't force you to be the one to clean up this mess by pulling seniority on you. By the way, what happened to the table?"

With an exasperate but fond smile, Angela gently shook her head. "Reinhardt."

"Ah," Naruto simply said, not at all surprised but the answer. That single word explained everything he needed to know and already suspected. "You still haven't told me why you're here, though. I somehow doubt that you're involved with this mess. Knowing Reinhardt, he probably scared himself after telling one of his scary story and tripped over the table."

Angela looked up at him and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's exactly what happened," she murmured to herself in slight disbelief at his accurate prediction, before shaking her head and focusing back on his question. "I actually stayed back because I wanted to talk with you. Cleaning all of this only gave me the excuse."

Nodding in understanding, Naruto swept his hand across the air in front of him. Angela felt a pleasant shiver run down her spine as a warm and gentle breeze blew through the room and over her skin. Wordlessly, the various broken pieces scattered around the floor piled up in a mound before ordinarily flying into a plastic bag. "There, all done," Naruto chirped happily as he patted the spot next to him on the couch. "Now we can talk."

Still slightly stunned by Naruto's demonstration of his mastery over the wind element, Angela nervously fixed her clothes, taking off her pointy witch hat, and stiffly sat on the couch leaving a couple of feet between herself and the fellow blond. If Naruto noticed her anxiety, he didn't show it as he simply continued to eat in silence his candies at a slower pace than before. "I wanted to apologize," Angela finally confessed, absently raising her hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I think that, in my haste to save Genji's life, I didn't explain to you in detail what the cyberization procedure entailed."

Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow but Angela continued, not leaving him the chance to interrupt her, "I remember you telling me how close you and Genji were before the accident. Now, he barely speaks to you or anyone else for that matter. He almost hates himself, appalled by what he has become. What I turned him into. And I can't help but think that it's my fault all of this happened. For that I'm really sorry."

"Was there another way? As his doctor, are you telling me that back then we could have chosen another procedure that would have guaranteed the same results? Both saving his life and allowing him to regain full mobility?" Naruto calmly asked her, his tone giving nothing away.

"Well, no… but there were oth–"

"Then you've got nothing to apologise for," he firmly but gently interrupt her.

Dropping the now half empty bag of candies to his feet, Naruto turned toward Angela. His right arm lazily draped over the back of the white couch as he leaned his head on his bandaged hand. "I have the feeling that you believe me to be infallible. So, if there's a problem, you don't even consider for a moment that it may be my fault and, instead, immediately blame yourself." The furious blush covering her cheeks was all Naruto needed to confirm his statement. "Concerning Genji's situation there were no good or bad choices. Each of them had its pros and cons and I was the one to make the decision, fully aware of the repercussions. Perhaps I should have made a different choice, but I don't think that wondering about 'what ifs' is going to help Genji."

Angela's breath itched when Naruto took her hand in his owns. His calloused thumbs, covered by a myriad of minuscule scars, were rough on her skin as they traced slow, meticulous circles on the back of her hand. "However, if there's one thing I'm sure of is that you are absolutely not the one to blame. You saved his life, Angela." His deep, grateful tone made her heart soar. "You have no idea how jealous of you I am. I may have all these amazing powers and abilities, but the moment I try to heal someone with my chakra I do more harm than good."

"There isn't a living being who can handle your chakra but the adjustment Genji received in the past weeks were based on the data obtained by the nanorobots inside of your body. Technically, you are also involved in his recovery. You are probably the vital part of it," Angela hesitantly added, not knowing if Naruto wanted to be reassured or simply speak his mind.

With a smirk forming on his lips, Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while he still held her hand with one of his own. "Well, that was only possible thanks to you. I simply was your willing test subject. I hardly deserve a praise. I'm just happy to hear that, at least, I was somewhat useful."

"How can you say something like that? Of course you are useful," Angela retorted almost accusingly as she shifted closer to him. Did he really not realise his role in their lives? "It's thanks to you that Overwatch exists. You've personally trained Jack and Gabriel, our leaders, yet you didn't stop there. You are still here for us, helping us when we ask you to. You are…" _'My hero. My guardian angel,'_ that was what Angela wanted to say, what her heart truly felt, but the words stopped in her throat the moment she was about to utter them. "… important to all of us."

His blue eyes, that until that moment were transfixed on her hand, slowly travelled upwards stopping when their gazes met and a genuine smile lit his face. "Thank you. Most of the times I tend to diminish my own influence within the organisation because I'm afraid you guys may rely a little bit too much on me," Naruto confessed giving her a knowing look. "You should fight for yourself, not because I'm telling you to do so. That has always been my goal. However, I can't deny that it's nice being appreciated."

"You're welcome." Averting her eyes, Angela nervously bit her bottom lip. "When you talked about fighting for ourselves, did you mean out there on the field?"

"Well, partially. Many battles aren't fought on a battlefield but those are just as, if not more important. Since Overwatch is a military organisation mostly constituted by soldiers, one can forget about that aspect," Naruto explained with at first his brows furrowed in confusion by Angela's question followed by a dawning look of understanding coming to his face. "Are you thinking of becoming a combat medic?"

"Maybe? The lab is getting quite dull without Winston," she lightly joked before turning serious. "The truth is that every day I read the reports of the missions and I see so many cases where I know I could have made the difference. There are so many people in the world who don't have the time, the money or the possibility to get some help. And while I know that Overwatch is doing the best it can, sometimes it's just not enough. I thought that if those people in need can't go to a doctor, then a doctor must go to them."

Intrigued by her thoughts, Naruto leaned in closer. "And how do you think to do that?"

"I'm working on a new suit based on the one I created for Genji," Angela eagerly explained, eyes sparkling with excitement and almost childish joy at the thought of her newest creation. Sitting up straight on the couch, any trace of nervousness or embarrassment immediately disappeared from her face as she described her project to Naruto, "This suit would let me transport and use nanorobots outside of the lab, allowing me to give the best possible medical treatment no matter where I found myself. No need of specific, bulky equipment or even a sterile environment. Just imagine the possibilities in the poorest countries which sometimes lack clean water, let alone suitable healthcare infrastructures."

Naruto could only smile at Angela's enthusiasm. Sometimes he forgot how she was a doctor first and foremost before being an Overwatch agent. Her first concern was about saving people rather than protect them. "That sound pretty amazing. Having what basically is a portable hospital on the field would save a large amount of lives, soldiers and civilians alike. You should really be proud of yourself, Angela. I know I am," Naruto said squeezing her hand tighter.

"Well, for now I'm still at the prototype stage. It's far too early to congratulate me already," she responded bashfully, a slight blush returning on her cheeks. "Would you like to see it? The prototype, I mean."

Standing up, Naruto clumsily fixed the bandages hanging from his body before offering her his hand to help her get up from the couch. "I'd love to."

With a beaming smile, Angela took his hand and dragged Naruto to her laboratory through the empty walls of the headquarters. The shinobi silently chuckled at her childlike behaviour. Maybe he could introduce her to Fareeha. He had the feeling that the two of them would get along very well together. "I'm still working on the design of the suit, but I'm satisfied of how it looks right now. I'm sure you'll love it." Angela's voice brought him out of his musing. "I even managed to put some orange in it."

Orange? Oh, now Naruto had to see it.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** Here we are with a new and amazing – hopefully – chapter.

This time I decide to focus on the two scientist of Overwatch. With Winston I imagine that it took him some time to embrace his animal nature since Dr Harold Winston, the one who inspired him to be a scientist and was basically his role model, was most likely mauled by a group enraged gorillas. I think that's one of the reason why Winston is always so respectful and calm during his interactions with the other characters (I'm talking about his quotes in the game which I based his personality on). He is afraid of being compared to those other gorillas, so he presents himself as a quiet and collected scientist. I hope I properly represented his interior conflict and his interaction with Naruto gave me the possibility to quote Haku. One of the best characters of the manga Naruto, hands down, in my opinion.

Then there's Angela. What I really wanted to convey in this chapter, beside the future arrival of the Mercy we know and love in all of her 'valkyrian' glory, was how she sees Naruto and how this view is slowly changing. Angela put Naruto on a pedestal, he is her hero. Seeing him distraught after the Genji's episode was the first time she saw him as a human being, with flaws and imperfection. However, that was not enough to completely change her view of him. This is a long process which it'll take a lot of time and I'll explore in the future chapters.

I think it's really important to notice how differently Ana and Angela interacts with Naruto. By the time of this chapter, Ana is a 46 years old woman who saw Naruto at his best and worst and, probably, knows him better than anyone else after knowing each other for over 16 years. Angela, on the other hand, is 23 years old and she is just begging to understand him after he saved her life when she was 8 years old. It's quite clear that the two of them see Naruto differently. The first, two chapter ago, reminded him of his humanity while the latter, in this chapter, couldn't understand how he could possibly do something wrong.

On another note… Sombra is finally here and she is a badass. Have you seen the animated short "Infiltration"? It's amazing. I loved every second of it and I can't wait to write a chapter about her. Thankfully, I made Gérard Lacroix a computer geek so I already have dozens of possible scenario playing in my head. Maybe Overwatch will try to tackle on a Mexican gang in the near future?

Speaking about Mexicans, the US elected their 45th president this week. Yeah… that happened. The title of this chapter sounds oddly appropriate right now. As Italian, I want to say to all the Americans reading me that having a seventy years old, billionaire, womanizer with fake hair and a disproportionate number of children as head of the state is not the end of the world. We survived it and, honestly, he wasn't as bad as we first thought. Just goggle Silvio Berlusconi. On the bright side, it's only for four years.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

PS: Was I the only one who every time Sombra said "Boop!" during the animated short thought about sloths and pancakes? Just want to know.

 **Posted: 11/11/16**

 **Last Updated: 11/12/16**


	10. Chapter 10 - Didn't See That Coming

**Chapter 10 – Didn't See That Coming**

A gust of sea breeze gently blew through the open window into the hotel room, bringing with it the cries of seagulls and the poignant scent of the ocean which swiftly permeated the air. The white woven curtains, bathed in the warm yellow glow of the morning sunshine, were softly rustling, following the steady rhythm of the waves as they crushed into the shore. These quiet sounds were incredibly clear and definite, enhanced by the nearly deserted and silent streets outside of the hotel.

The Riviera Maya was, after all, a tourism and resort district. Many considered it the best the Mexico's Caribbean coast had to offer. At barely seven in the morning, only a few people were awake, and even less decided to leave the comfort of their residences and walk down the streets.

Apart from the very few early risers who were preparing to open their shops for the day, or the rare tourist who wanted to see the long, white sand beaches that made the Riviera Maya so famous without the usual hordes of vacationists swarming all over them, the majority of the people was still comfortably staying in bed. Either by their own choice, wanting to fully experience the pleasure and relaxation of being on holiday, or by circumstances beyond their control, such as a terrible hangover headache after a night of partying and drinking in one of the several nightclubs scattered along the coastline.

Yet there was one person who was doing neither of these things.

Sitting in the middle of a bed in a luxurious hotel room overlooking the ocean, the very same hotel room described just a few moments prior, María Jiménez was not enjoying the peaceful and relaxing setting of the Riviera Maya during the early morning hours. She wasn't listening to the soothing sound of the crashing waves, or filling her lungs with the briny breath of the sea.

No, instead she was busy glaring at the small screen of the smartphone she was holding in her lap as her slender, olive toned fingers furiously tapped and swept across the touch screen, scrolling down the extremely long email she had just received.

Every so often, her dark brown eyes narrowed at the small electronic object in her hands and, frustrated or downright angered by what she was reading, a word or two in her mother tongue escaped her lips. The initial, irritated high tone which accompanied those not so nice comments immediately becoming a hushed whisper as she remembered the presence of her still sleeping companion, who was resting on the other side of the bed next to her.

Once assured that her outburst hadn't woken him up, seeing the constant, shallow rise and fall of the white bed sheets in rhythm with his slow breathing, she would look back at her phone, just to repeat the exact same actions a few moments later.

The more she read, the more annoyed she got. She was on holiday, a well-deserved holiday. Why couldn't she enjoy it in peace?

She was just over thirty years old but, at the rate she was going, she'd have grey hair and stress wrinkles in no time… as well as find herself in desperate need of new curse words. Not her top priority on her list of things to do, but important nonetheless. The same insults were starting to become repetitive after a while, and she had used pretty much every possible variant of both Spanish and English _colourful_ adjectives that she could think of to describe her current situation.

A situation which, she was sad to admit, unfortunately was nothing new to her.

Last night Los Muertos' members carried out an attack against one of LumériCo's facilities.

Again.

María scratched her head in an exasperated manner, mussing her long, ebony, wavy hair even more in the process, and for a fleeting moment she considered simply ignoring the whole situation. It would be so easy to do. She just had to turn off her phone and hide herself away under the sheets and soft covers. This option was tempting, incredibly so, and hearing the quiet snores of the man sleeping not even a couple of feet away from her did not go any way in convincing her otherwise.

In the end, after a long mental debate followed by a silent sigh of resignation, she grudgingly decided to continue to read through the report, knowing very well that simply ignoring the problem would not make it go away but only make it grow bigger. As her mind swiftly drifted back toward the several encounters she had had in the past with said Mexican criminal group throughout her career at LumériCo, it didn't take her long to realise that even more complications wasn't something that she needed in her life at the moment.

As the security chief of LumériCo, María's work had been, to put it mildly, hectic over the last few couple of years. Since its founding by Guillermo Portero, the Mexican energy company worked nonstop to construct a series of power plants in a network that would run throughout the whole country. Providing, this way, clean and free energy to everyone everywhere.

Those were structures that the entire Mexico and its citizens, herself included, deeply needed since the majority of the country's infrastructure, the national power grid in particular, had been destroyed by the omnics during the war. Mexicans even referred to the Omnic Crisis as "La Medianoche", "The Midnight", aptly describing the period of darkness – both figurative and literal – that engulfed their country.

And now, after all these years of hard work, only one last power plant of this vast and significant project remained to be completed – the one in the city of Dorado. Kind of ironic that the power plant located in the hometown of the CEO of LumériCo, Guillermo Portero himself, was going to be built last of all.

However, María, her boss Guillermo Portero, and every other person involved into this project found it really difficult to laugh at the irony of the situation.

After all, a lawless, opportunistic gang composed by criminals who had constantly committed acts of vandalism and sabotage against said LumériCo's property, causing the lengthy delay in the construction of the facility, wasn't exactly a laughing matter. To top it all, these criminals – because that's what Los Muertos' members were for María – even liked to refer to themselves as revolutionaries to justify their illegal actions. Painting the energy company as the villain in the public's eye, and themselves as the brave heroes who were protecting the poor, forgotten Mexican citizens.

Los Muertos.

Just thinking about it made her feel sick, and she had to physically fight the urge to throw her phone against the wall, shattering it into a thousand little pieces. Once she had finished to read the email this sentiment remained, stronger then ever, but she simply felt too tired to act upon her desire. Just as always, hearing about those criminals left her mentally drained. She could already feel the low throbbing of a headache already forming on the back of her head.

Dropping her phone in her lap, she brought her hands up to rub her temples and let out a long, tired sigh. Since the very beginning Los Muertos had been a thorn in her side and this holiday – these few days of peace – was supposed to make her forget about it, just for a little while. Her boss Guillermo Portero himself told her, almost ordered her, to go on vacation, knowing very well how much his skilled security chief needed a break from these "revolutionaries".

She was honestly not that much surprised that her holiday didn't go as planned. It's not like Los Muertos actually cared that she was supposed to relax in these days. Perhaps she should have sent them a memo about it. Shaking her head, she almost smacked herself on her forehead for that stupid thought. That was definitely a bad idea. They probably would have done something even worst just to spite her.

All of the sudden, her dark eyes widened and her full lips parted in a silent gasp as she felt a single finger lazily, languidly gliding between her shoulder blades and down her spine, sending a chilled sensation throughout her body and snapping her out of her meandering thoughts. Apparently, her sleeping companion was no longer sleeping and decided to use a more direct and physical approach to make his presence known.

María definitely wasn't complaining. Not one bit.

She could feel the heat from his breath, warm and inciting, grazing over her naked skin, and his eyes, those intense eyes, looking intently at her back, studying and savouring every twitch of her muscles or nerves. He was pleased by her reaction to his touch – she was sure of that – and knowing that fact made María only shiver more, trapping her in an endless loop of teasing and being teased.

Soon merely watching was no longer enough for him, though.

Raising himself to a sitting position on the bed behind her, he encircled her slim waist with his arm and pulled her back against his naked chest. A pair of soft lips brushed against her neck and his faint stubble pleasantly scratched against her skin, making her squirm in his grasp.

As he nuzzled his face into her hair, he deeply inhaled her scent, taking it into his lungs, before laying soft kisses along the cup of her ear. "Why are you so tense, María? I thought that I took care of this particular problem the other night. Wasn't that my job as your… how did you call me? Ah, right. As your stress relief?" he asked her with a deep, husky morning voice, hints of teasing slipping through.

"I've just received some news from work. It's not your fault. You've done an…" Her words trailed off into a throaty moan as his hands moved to her shoulders and, after gently pushing her long hair out of the way, began a delicate yet deep massage. Closing her eyes in pure bliss, feeling all the tension melting slowly away from her muscles, she continued from where she had left off, her words accompanied by soft hums of contentment, "You've done an excellent job last night, Naruto."

With a gentle finger under her chin, Naruto turned her head to the side. Their lips met, just for a few seconds, before he pulled away, leaving a small gap between them. Sparkling cerulean eyes, topped with a mop of tousled, blond hair, stared down at her. "Glad to be of service. I'll have you know that I take my job very seriously." She could feel his cheeky grin, that lovable grin, against her lips as he muttered those words.

Placing a hand behind his head, María drew him closer to her once again and guided his mouth back onto hers, opting to answer his teasing with actions instead of words. Her nibble fingers, tangled into his spiky hair, gently scratched his scalp urging him to continue and keeping their lips locked. Almost daring him to pull away from her, as her moans were swiftly muffled by his long, passionate kisses.

Technically, she was still on holiday and, with the memories of the night before lingering so fresh in her mind, she wanted to take advantage of every second they had together before reality, her job, and the responsibilities associated with it kicked in.

Naruto was a good stress relief.

A wonderful stress relief.

When María had decided to visit the hotel bar the other night, just to have a couple of drinks and try to enjoy her holiday, she had never imagined that she would find herself in a situation like this the following morning. With a man, whom she knew nothing about beyond his first name, completely naked in the bed of her hotel room as he reverently explored with his fingers and lips every inch of her own naked body, leaving her moaning with pleasure and completely at his mercy.

She usually didn't behave like this. Picking up a random stranger in a bar was a new experience for her and something that she had never thought it would actually happen. Now, feeling his strong muscles envelop her as he pulled her closer to him with one of his hands moving down to the small of her back while his bandaged one slid up her side, she was extremely glad that she had decided to get out of her room to grab a drink last night.

As he slowly leaned her back down on the bed, Naruto moved on top of her, pressing his body flush against hers. María could only squirm pleasantly in his warm embrace before, ever so slowly, bending her leg up, first running one tantalizing foot over his calve and then brushing her knee against his hip. His muscles tensed and bunched beneath her gentle touch, a soft groan even escaped his lips, and she allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction, pleased by his prompt reaction to her teasing.

That smile quickly disappeared when one of his hands grabbed her thigh and kept it steady against his side, immediately stopping her coy movements. A low grumble vibrated in the back of his throat as his naked fingers played across her skin, the pad of his thumb gently grazing her inner thigh. Her breathing had turned rough and laboured, her heart skipping a beat at the way his fingers possessively but not painfully dug into her flesh.

However, just when she thought he was about to run his hand upward along her inner thigh – something that she was both anticipating and partially dreading – he gave her one last teasing squeeze before moving his hand on the cushion near her head, leaving her skin tingling with something akin to unfulfilled anticipation.

She didn't have the time or the need to complain about his decision though. Even if her mouth was currently too occupied to talk – making it physically impossible for her to voice her possible complains – the warm sensation of his body pressed so ardently against her own, perfectly positioned between her legs, was enough to sweep away every objection she might have thought of.

She definitely didn't want to say something wrong, anything that would make him stop.

Resting his weight on one elbow, he continued to kiss her while his hand slyly took her smartphone that, until that moment, rested discarded on her lap, pressed against their bodies. After one last deep kiss that brought a moan from her mouth, Naruto raised his head, finally separating their lips. For a few silent seconds he simply stared at her, standing over her and taking in her swollen, damp lips, and erratic breathing.

"So, if I understood correctly, this little thing is the cause of your current stress, correct?" Naruto commented, holding up her cell phone between his bandaged thumb and forefinger. He frowned dramatically as he put it on the bedside table, his eyes never leaving hers. "That simply won't do. I can't leave you like this. As I've told you before, I take my job very seriously and you don't seem to be a happy customer. Allow me to remedy that."

Once he said that, he leaned in closer, his mouth inches from hers, his blue eyes hungry, when her finger on his lips gently stopped him. His puzzled expression, with his eyes, mouth and nose all scrunched up in confusion, was simply adorable and María was dangerously close to forget about her responsibilities for another hour or two just to have a repeat of last night's performance but, unfortunately, she couldn't stay in bed forever.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. My holiday has been cut short and I have to be at the airport in three hours. Something that is definitely not going to happen if I let you do what you were about to do."

Slowly running her hands down his chiselled chest looming over her, she couldn't hold back the longing sigh escaping her lips at the sight before her. Her fingertips were carefully tracing the strong muscles of his body, admiring each soft curve and hard edge of his pectorals and abs, as she softly whispered to herself, "No matter how much I want you to do it. Because, believe me, I really, really do."

María let out a small squeal of surprise when Naruto, all of the sudden, got out of bed and scooped her up in his arms. The ruffled, white bed sheets, which until that moment had covered her form, slipped from her fingers and laid strewn across the mattress. Snuggling deeper into his warm chest, she raised her head and stared at him with a slightly baffled, questioningly look.

"Since you have to go to the airport I presume that you're going to take a shower… mind if I join you?" he asked her while moving toward the bathroom with her lithe frame cradled in his arms and a grin plastered on his face, almost not leaving her the time to give him an answer to his request.

She could have said no. She should have said no. However, when her eyes dropped to his mouth, her entire – traitorous – body shivered with pleasure at the memory of those lips on her skin. Trying to supress the mischievous smile tugging at her lips and the eager glint coming into her eyes, she surrendered herself to his embrace with a longing, defeated sigh. Her arms draped lazily over his broad shoulders and she let herself be carried to the shower as her fingers idly toyed with the short strands of blond hair that laid against the back of his neck.

Well, after all he wasn't utterly wrong. She really needed to take a shower so, why not make the most of it? Multitasking was one of the capabilities that she had first mastered throughout her career, and she couldn't think of a better scenario to use it.

Once Naruto and María entered the bathroom, closing the door behind them, and the water in the shower began to flow, a cloud of smoke silently materialised in the middle of the hotel room, just a few feet away from the dishevelled bed. A clone of Naruto, wearing a simple white tank top and orange short pants – unlike his current naked creator – emerged from the quickly dissipating cloud of white smoke.

After giving a cursory glance to the closed bathroom door behind him, he swiftly moved across the room toward the bedside table. His bandaged hand immediately grabbed María's smartphone which was resting on top of it and, not a second later, he placed on the touch screen a small circular electronic object whose function Naruto, even after hearing about it several times, still didn't understand completely.

Thankfully for him, the shinobi didn't need to know how to use it but simply how to put it in place. Someone much more experienced than him on this matter, was in charge of making it work.

"Ok Gérard, I put your thingamajig on María's phone. Is it working?" the clone whispered into the small microphone attached to his head, all the while looking with a confused expression at "Gérard's thingamajig", which now had a red light flashing rhythmically in the centre of it. Well, that was supposed to happen so his part was done. Now he just had to patiently wait for an answer, hopefully a positive response, from Overwatch's resident geek – Gabriel's endearing nickname for Gérard Lacroix.

Honestly, that wasn't the Blackwatch commander's worst epithet for one of his colleagues or, as he liked to call them, subordinates. After all this years, Jack was still being occasionally called boy scout; Gabriel shouted the word monkey at Winston whenever the gorilla did something – in the commander's opinion – incredibly stupid; and Genji, poor Genji, was now permanently addressed as cyborg ninja dude. Resident geek was definitely not the worst possible nickname.

"Everything is fine, sir. The connection has been established and we should have everything we need in five – ten minutes tops," came the prompt reply through the blond's earpiece, "What is Miss Jiménez's current location, if I may ask? If the hacking process is not completed in one setting, I can't assure you that LumériCo's IT workers won't discover our attempted security breach of their servers. I doubt they would be able to trace it back to us but they would definitely improve their security making a second attempt much more difficult."

Hearing the question, the clone glanced at the closed bathroom door and thought about how he could describe María's current position without sounding too much crude. "Don't worry, Gérard. María won't interrupt us. Boss is keeping her… occupied," the clone responded, nodding happily to himself, proud to have found the right words to explain the situation.

"Occupied? What do you mean by–" Gérard's query was interrupted by a deep, satisfied, and distinctive feminine moan coming from behind the bathroom's door. A few minutes of absolute radio silence followed and the clone could only bury his face in his hands, softly groaning to himself, once Gérard's clipped response reached his ears.

"Oh, that kind of occupied."

"Gérard, please. Focus on your thingamajig."

"… Right away, sir."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

After leaving Gérard's room, Naruto swiftly made his way to the exit of the hotel. His feet were absently walking him toward the main lobby, as he replayed in his mind the conversation he had just had with the French Overwatch agent. Even if Gérard managed to successfully breach into the LumériCo's server merely a few hours ago, those few hours were more than enough for him to find a lot of information related to what they were looking for.

You definitely couldn't complain about his results or say that he was a slow worker.

Naruto had barely the time to knock on Gérard's room, arriving directly from María's hotel right after their activities in the shower, before the French hacker dragged him in and began to rely to him his recent findings about Los Muertos, LumériCo, and the relationship between the two of them.

While Los Muertos' attacks against LumériCo had been most of the times simple acts of vandalism, nothing more and nothing less, in some rare cases, the criminal gang had been able to execute precise, coordinated, large-scale raids against the energy company's proprieties. That was an abnormity which deeply concerned Overwatch since there was another criminal group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries, the Australian Liberation Front, with a somewhat similar behaviour.

Unfortunately for the war heroes, LumériCo, even if it was partially state-sponsored, was still considered a private company and an international task force such as Overwatch couldn't simply began a deep, accurate investigation of the corporation without giving a proper reason. For all of its power, might, and high standing at an international level, the task force wasn't above the law or the sovereignty of the various governments.

Overwatch was always operating under the jurisdiction of the United Nations.

Always.

Therefore, it didn't have more power than the states which had created it in the first place. That would only happen under extremely unlikely circumstances and it would require a direct authorisation by the UN. Only something like a second Omnic Crisis could be considered one of those extreme cases so, hopefully, that was not going to happen any time soon.

Luckily for Jack, the Overwatch commander didn't need any worldwide crisis since he had at his disposal an immortal, incredibly bored shinobi who, besides not being officially affiliated to the peacekeeping organisation – or any other organisation on the planet, for that matter – had genuinely nothing better to do with his time than snooping into other people's, or companies', business.

If a private citizen wanted to poke around, Jack had absolutely no control over his or her actions. And if this _nosey_ private citizen was – hypothetically speaking, of course – a super powered being who could teleport around the world at their will and multiply themselves, then trying to control him or her was even more complicated and he could be hardly blamed for being unable to put a stop to the actions of this nosey hypothetical citizen.

Not that Jack would actually try to do that. Beside the fact that he actually approved of Naruto's actions and, because of that, he would never try to obstruct his teacher in any way, the soldier from Indiana was a man – a man blessed with superhuman enhancement, true – but still just a simple man. If Naruto wanted to do something, nothing could stop him. And the entire UN was aware of that fact.

After all, since he had chosen by his own volition not to be directly involved any longer into the worldwide events of this world, Naruto's only remaining option was to see the course of those events unfolding in front of his eyes and give his piece of advice whenever needed and/or requested. Something that he did eagerly and attentively.

Both because he was the apprentice of the great Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja) – building spy networks and gathering top secret information was almost a second nature to him now and something he took great pride in doing – and because, as said before, he was incredibly bored.

Hobbies: the best cure against the boredom of an immortal life.

Considering the method he had used just a few hours ago to gain access to the information he was currently looking for, maybe Ero-Sennin's influence on him was bigger than he had first imagined. Even if that were the case, Naruto still adamantly refused to call himself a pervert or… ugh… a super pervert.

That would never happen. Not in a million years and, as an immortal, he really meant it literally.

In any case, now, thanks to Gérard's computer genius and Naruto's prowess in bed, Los Muertos' occasional precise attacks were no longer a mystery to them. The answer was clear once they looked into LumériCo's network server or, to be more precise, the answer laid in the fact that the French geek was not the first person who had successfully hacked into said server.

Someone else, someone really good if the excited gleam present in Gérard's eyes whenever he talked about them was any indication, managed to gain access to a huge portion of LumériCo's private information. Obviously, they decided to share this information with Los Muertos' members, consciously or not helping them to plan more precise strikes against the energy company.

Naruto immediately thought about the mysterious group helping the Australian Liberation Front, wondering if these two similar instances were somehow connected, but Gérard was quick to dismiss his doubts.

While this hacker was very good at what he or she did, this person – using Gérard's own words – had one major flaw: he or she was an amateur.

Gérard wasn't criticising their skills, far from it, they were skilled, extremely so, but their actions lacked drive. They actually reminded him of a younger himself and, because of that, he could easily relate to their situation. This hacker knew how to hack, so they decided to do it simply because they could and believed themselves good enough to not be discovered.

They wanted information, any kind of information, and they were able to obtain it. There was no purpose, no bigger scheme behind it, or end goal. It was all about them, only them, and how much data they managed to accumulate.

It was actually kind of sad once you thought about it and Gérard was quick to ask Naruto if Overwatch could offer to this mysterious hacker the same deal he himself had received in the past – working for the task force instead of ending up in jail. A good deal that, in his opinion, this hacker deserved. Their actions weren't evil per se, but simply misguided.

If someone like Jack Morrison hadn't straightened him out when he was younger, Gérard had no doubt that he would have found himself in a similar, or even worse situation. Hacking Overwatch server was both the smartest and dumbest thing he had ever done in his teenage years.

Naruto honestly believed that Gérard's request wasn't impossible to act on. Both Overwatch and Blackwatch commanders loved to pick up… strays during their missions. Every time Jack and Gabriel encountered someone who was skilled and had nowhere to go, offering them a job in their division always seemed to be the most logical solution to the problem.

Gérard, Jesse, Winston, Genji. If Ana wasn't there to control her two old friends and superiors, Overwatch would have a lot more members by now.

A lot more.

"Is my dear husband busy unravelling some sort of worldwide conspiracy?"

Stopping midstride, Naruto turned toward the gentle, feminine voice that posed the question. There he saw, seated in one of the wicker armchairs present in the hotel lobby, Amélie Lacroix looking at him with soft hazel eyes and a single raised, questioning eyebrow, as a knowing smile slowly formed on her lips. With her legs crossed, back straight, and hands folded primly on her lap, holding between her fingers a white and black striped large summer hat, she managed to look simultaneously lively and elegant.

There was a grace to all her movements Naruto always found mesmerising. A natural beauty almost impossible to replicate, enhanced by her choice to not wear any makeup or jewellery at all. Her fair skin, slightly tanned with exposure to the Mexican's sun, was unblemished, accentuated by her ebony, long hair piled up in a high ponytail which gently swished behind her. A white long summer dress covered her lithe frame, leaving only her neck and arms bare, while her feet were sporting simple white sandals.

Extremely simple, but not less beautiful.

Slowly approaching her, Naruto guiltily rubbed the back of his head as he let out a few nervous chuckles, "Kind of?" Her other eyebrow arched to join the first. "We found out that a second hacker is involved and I tried to drag Gérard out of the room – I swear it! – but, you know how he is..." Naruto trailed off, helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

"I know my husband very well. When he finds a new challenge nothing is going to separate him from a computer screen," Amélie commented, softly shaking her head and smiling in fond exasperation. After a few seconds of silence, mentally contemplating her options, she suddenly stood up from the armchair, straightened her dress and put her large summer hat on.

With a small, genuine smile she approached the sheepish shinobi. "Since my husband is probably not going to leave his computer for the next several hours, would you like to accompany me on a walk? I saw several boutiques along the coastline that I'd love to visit."

After making a show of thoroughly fixing his light blue short sleeved shirt and orange short pants, dusting off his clothes with several graceful flicks of his wrist, Naruto gave her a flamboyant bow in response. "It would be my pleasure, Madam. I know that I'm merely a poor substitute for Gérard's presence, but I promise you that I'll do my utmost best to make our outing as enjoyable as possible."

"True, true. You're nothing like my beloved Gérard," Amélie sighed dramatically and clasped one of her hands over her heart before hooking her left arm around Naruto's bandaged one, while her chaperon was absently nodding his head with some sort of understanding, acknowledging her statement.

Poking the blond's bicep with her finger, she let out a soft, pensive hum, "However, you can make a pretty good pack mule. I'm sure Gérard won't mind if I decide to buy a couple of things to ease the pain caused by his absence."

"I think that is the only logical course of action. As a once married man I should know about such matters. Whatever the wife deems to be the correct solution is indeed, without a shadow of a doubt, the correct solution," Naruto said in a matter of fact tone, struggling to keep a straight face. After exchanging a few furtive, amused glances at each other, the shinobi flashed her a beaming grin and guided a smiling Amélie outside of the hotel lobby into the busy street of the Riviera Maya.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Not even an hour later, Naruto appearance changed completely, turning him into the perfect image of a stereotypical tourist.

Amélie was honestly surprised by his rapid transformation. While the several shopping bags he was carrying were objectively her fault, the giant sombrero covering his head and the ridiculous sunglasses he was wearing, adorned with a bright pink flamingo and a palm tree over the neon orange plastic frame, were entirely his own doing.

What surprised her the most, however, was the fact that she didn't even notice him buying those extravagant accessories. They simply appeared out of nowhere. Was he carrying them with him? And if he was, where did he keep them?

With her arm still firmly locked around his bandaged one as they walked side by side, she couldn't help but glance occasionally at him. At first she was quite confused by his choice of clothing. Every single time her eyes fell on his attire she had to stifle the urge to either laugh aloud in the middle of the now busy street or swat him on the head with the sombrero that was currently resting on top of it. But now, after a few minutes of observation, his seemingly silly outfit gave her some insight into the blond's personality.

Seeing his carefree expression and cheerful smile that not once had dimmed during the course of her impromptu shopping spree, Amélie could easily understand why her husband respected and admired Naruto so much. He was so bright and sunny that his presence was enough to warm your heart and bring a smile to your lips.

That was nothing new to her. You could probably notice Naruto's cheerful disposition within five minutes of meeting him. At least, that's what happened to her. However, the way he managed to cheer up the people around him was every time different and, over the few years they have known each other, not once she had seen him fail in his attempts. Even now she could hear the random chuckles from the people walking around them as their eyes set on her goofy companion.

Not a mocking or a sneering chuckle, but a genuine one. The one that bubbled up in your chest, making your entire body shake with mirth, and that you had to forcefully fight back to not let it escape your lips. The type of chuckle that everyone needed with the memories of the Omnic Crisis still fresh in their minds, especially the people of her own generation who were just children when the war happened.

"I'm sorry about Gérard." Naruto's voice interrupted her musing and she focused her gaze on him, giving him a questioning look and prompting him to clarify his statement. "This is supposed to be your honeymoon and I've… kind of stolen your husband from you. I promise you that from tomorrow you won't see him near a single computer or any kind of electronic device. I'll make sure of that. He'll only focus on you."

"That is quite the claim. You do realise that we are talking about Gérard, right? Are you planning to make disappear every piece of electronic equipment within a radius of fifty kilometres? I believe that is the only possible way to keep him away from technology. I'm not so sure I should allow you to do that. I'm afraid quite a few people would be rightfully angry with us," Amélie teased him, her free hand raising to her face in mock alarm.

"It wouldn't be the first time I end up annoying a bunch of people to help a friend," Naruto joked, responding good-naturedly to her teasing.

Giving him a thankful smile, Amélie squeezed his arm. "Somehow I have no doubt in believing that but, in this case, you've got nothing to apologise for, Naruto. As a matter of fact, I should be thanking you. You are the one who paid for our honeymoon and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I have no idea how we could repay you."

With a shrug of his shoulders and an easy grin, Naruto was ready to dismiss her concerns when, all of a sudden, his face scrunched in thought as he mused over her offer. "If you really want to do something for me, you could convince your beloved husband to stop calling me sir. I've known him for almost ten years now and, no matter how many times I've told him that it's not necessary, he's still doing it. While I'm sure that he is calling me 'sir' out of respect, I can't help but feel that a part of him, a small part of him, is doing that just to annoy me."

"I'm afraid that would be impossible. It simply wouldn't be right. Gérard respects you too much to call you anything different. I don't believe I would be able to change him on that aspect."

Amélie's apologetic words were accompanied by a not very apologetic smile. Her lips were quite visibly twitching as she tried to hide the playful grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Naruto could only roll his eyes at the sight and snorted derisively, "Yeah, I'm sure that's totally the case."

Giving her one last knowing look, which Amélie promptly ignored with a smirk on her lips, Naruto continued in a more hushed tone, "Jokes aside, I wanted to do something nice for you two so, I did it. I honestly wasn't expecting anything in return. I believe that at least during your honeymoon, you should be able to spend as much time as possible with your lover and not worry about anything else. Considering Gérard's job, there will be times in the future when you two won't be able to spend a lot of time together. I guess that I didn't want you to get all stressed out before it is absolutely necessary."

"Talking from personal experience?" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them and her eyebrows immediately shot up almost to her hairline as her eyes widened. Sending him an apologetic look, she covered her mouth with her hand, trying to think of something to say but unable to find the right words to apologise.

How could she have said something so stupid? She had one simple rule concerning Naruto and she just broke it. Never talk about his married life.

Amélie had no idea of how old Naruto exactly was, but she knew for certain that he was older than he appeared.

Way older than he appeared.

Her husband had known him for eight years now, and the blond goofball still looked exactly the same. Some people might think it was simply a case of good genes. She had also at first justified his physical appearance by saying that, but once she had seen pictures of Naruto taken during the Omnic Crisis, that theory was immediately discarded.

Good genes couldn't slow down the aging process that much.

She was obviously curious – of course she was, who wouldn't be – but she had never asked him questions about it. First of all, she was only a civilian and not an Overwatch agent. Part of her suspected that Naruto may have been involved in some secret military project. He definitely wouldn't be the first one. Second, it simply was not that important for her. Naruto was always open about his past and, while sometimes he didn't disclose the entire truth, he never lied.

For example, he talked a lot about his married life. His spousal experience had been quite helpful when Gérard got the wedding jitters just a few days before the grand day and the blond managed to calm him down by giving him a few words of advice. Her husband may be considered a genius but his social skills were still in dire need of improvement.

However, one thing that caught Amélie's attention when he talked about his past weren't his funny anecdotes, but the blond's expression whenever he reminisced about his wife. You could clearly see the love shining in his cerulean eyes, mingled with a slight tinge of melancholy. A wistful smile, almost unconsciously, always appeared on his face on those occasions.

After a while, it became painfully clear to her that, when talking about his wife, he'd always used the past tense.

From that moment on, Amélie made a silent vow to herself not to talk about his married life with him. She was sure that Naruto would have find her promise ridiculous, reassuring her that it wasn't necessary. Sometimes she was almost convinced of that too, seeing him in presence of other women with whom he had definitely something more than a platonic relationship, but, considering how much he had done for her husband and her, avoiding what may be a sorrowful topic was the least she could do for him.

Naruto's soft chuckle reached her ears and eased her a little.

"You could say that," the immortal shinobi admitted with no shame whatsoever, "I may appear to be a wise man, always with the right answer and advice for every problem, but that's the case only because I learnt from the mistakes I've made in my life. And I've made a lot of them. Gérard is not the first person having a job that is going to keep him away from home. I found myself in the same scenario and, I have to admit that, at first, I didn't manage to balance work life and family life very well. While I appreciate the respect Gérard has for me, that is not something that I want him to emulate."

He and his son Boruto had to fight against an overpowered alien set on destroying their world in order to reconcile their differences and finally have a long awaited chat between the two of them. Naruto honestly doubted that Gérard might find himself in that exact same situation, that would be quite ridiculous, but he could help him whenever he needed him. Hopefully, in less catastrophic scenarios.

Even if Amélie was incredibly wise and understanding, she was still just twenty years old. And while Gérard was slightly older, being twenty-four years old himself, in Naruto's opinion, both of them were still young and could easily make some stupid mistakes. He was the prime example of that.

With a beaming grin, he jabbed a thumb at his chest. "If he starts to misbehave just call me and I'll straight him up with a nice whack on the head." Seeing Amélie's challenging look, Naruto added as an afterthought, a drop of sweat trickling down his temple, "Or you could whack him yourself and just call me to enjoy the show."

His shoulders slightly dropped as he continued, "With Genji stationed in Japan and Winston in Gibraltar I'm missing my daily dose of whacking. There are always the recruits, I guess, but it's just not the same."

Her eyebrow slightly twitched as she regarded the pouting form of the shinobi. She had no idea how someone could switch so quickly from talking like a wise old sage to behave like an emotional teenager. Giving him a slightly awkward reassuring pat on his shoulder, Amélie tried to cheer him up, "I promise you that'll remember that, but I don't think it'll be necessary. When I decided to marry Gérard I knew that sometimes his work would overshadow our private time. I've already accepted that fact, so I can hardly be mad at him for occasionally ignoring me."

Her eyes softened, as she looked at the shiny, golden ring on her left hand. "After all, his job was one of the thing that made me fall in love with him, so I could never ask him to choose between me and Overwatch. It wouldn't be fair to him. I know that the world needs him and I'm willing to share him, from time to time. He used to joke saying that when I'd marry him, I'd also marry Overwatch." With a serene smile on her lips, she looked up at Naruto. "I guess he was right."

Reciprocating her smile, the two continued their stroll in companionable silence, both content in each other's company, happy to simply absorb the surroundings of the bustling streets around them. "Since I'm kind of a member of the task force does that mean we're also married?" Well, the silence was nice while it lasted, but Naruto wasn't exactly a fan of that.

"As if," Amélie almost scoffed, dramatically rolling her eyes. "My husband would never go around dressed like that. I wouldn't let him, especially not when he is in my company… outside… where other people can see us."

Quickly looking at himself, Naruto was confused by her statement. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Everything." Her answer was fast. Extremely fast.

"You didn't even look at me," Naruto murmured to himself as his shoulders shagged once more. "You order me around, I have to carry your shopping bag and we're definitely not going to have sex tonight. That's actually more similar to a real marriage than I've first imagined."

The only answer he received was a slap on the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, dear."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author note:** Finally, it's here! I know, I know, it's late. It has been almost three months since the last update and you are all probably hating me right now, which I totally understand. In my defence, for the past month and a half it has been and still is exam period for me – yay, Italian University – so I hope that my current misery can make you feel somewhat better.

But let's not talk about that. So many Overwatch related things happened in these past months which are a lot more interesting.

Overwatch First Strike has been cancelled. Damn! I was really counting on that. I had already imagined some chapters with flashback of the Omnic Crisis, maybe we could have find out something, anything about Liao, but nope! That is going to happen in the future, hopefully.

The new Oasis map is really interesting and I'm quite intrigued by the lore behind it. Besides, wasn't Mercy around that area when the Recall was initiated? I'll have to investigate on that.

It seems that Doomfist may be a future playable character. But nothing is still certain so I'm not getting my hopes up. On the other hand, you can be certain that the two previous known Doomfist – "the Saviour" and "the Scourge", as seen in the posters in Numbani – will appear in this story. I've got a plan for them.

And then, the Christmas comic has been released. I don't even know where to begin. First and foremost, really good comic. However, after reading it, I had more questions than answers. Honestly, I couldn't care less about Tracer sexuality. I don't have any problem with it. I neither love it or hate it, it simply is. I'm a little bummed that in my story a possible romantic relationship between Naruto and Tracer is not going to happen, because I won't make Tracer suddenly heterosexual just for Naruto, but nothing more than that. The first thing I thought when I saw the panel of the two of them kissing was "Now all the sexual tension between Tracer and Widowmaker in the "Alive" animated short makes so much sense!"

I just hope that Emily isn't going to be simply "Tracer's lesbian girlfriend" and Blizzard will disclosure more about her. Who she is, what she does, her role in the story. Something more. She doesn't have to be a playable character or anything like that. The same can be said for Torbjörn's family. Eight children? Really? I definitely didn't see that one coming.

Then there is of course Fareeha possible Indigenous Canadian father (?), Reyes' family (?), Widowmaker's redemption (?), SombraXMcCree (?).

So many questions, so few answers.

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait. Hopefully, not as much as I've made you wait. So sorry again for that. I'd love to promise that is not going to happen again but I can't promise you that. No reason to make a false promise.

See you all next chapter. Bye.

 **Posted: 01/20/17**

 **Last Updated: 01/21/17**


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